The Puppet Master
by RosieShiba
Summary: Paul's life has everything but there's something at the back of his mind that's not quite right. When an old foe reappears, Paul must fight to save the ones he loves, but is he standing alone? Sequel to Rocket Academy. IS, CS, OR, SS, PS.
1. A Fresh Start

**Hi there people *waves slowly* I did put on my profile that I'm not updating for a few days, maybe a few weeks, and I'm sorry but to be honest, I lost my Gran yesterday and I'm not in the best place to write. But I did promise to release this today so I will.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Rocket Academy.**

**Chapter One: A Fresh Beginning**

There are some nights you just want peace and quiet. Those are normally the nights when your two year old son comes running into the room, screaming about a nightmare or something. That boy was always plagued by nightmares. No one could understand it either. It's not like Dawn and I let him watch scary stuff. He always has the same dream. It's about darkness, he tells us, the darkness scares him.

I don't understand. I don't think I want to understand.

With my wife asleep in our bed, I take Dante, my son, back to his room and tuck him back in bed. I look over him. He has darker purple hair than mine with bright blue eyes like his mother. He favours the colour blue and his room and his wardrobe reflected that.

"Daddy," he said, "Me scared."

"I know," I replied, "But nothing is going to hurt you."

I'm nineteen. I shouldn't have a son but I do. I don't mind it either. I love Dawn very much and I love my son too. People look at us weirdly when we're out in public. I know they think we're irresponsible teens who fooled around and are now dealing with the circumstances… Well… We are but in a much nicer way than they seem to think.

Dante slowly drifts back to sleep, grasping my hand tightly. As soon as he's gone I replace my hand with a Suicune doll. I smiled as I remembered how Raven made him that.

Raven was one of Dawn's friends. They both work in the fashion industry, although Raven is more about home fashion than clothes fashion. Dawn designs clothes. The two of them are thinking about going into partnership. A chance meeting provided them both with a great friendship.

I walked out of my son's room and went back to my own room. Dawn was twitching in her sleep again. She had this horrible habit. I have no idea where it came from but over the past few months she had got increasingly worse. She should see a doctor soon, I think, but then again, she believes it's nothing.

I climbed back into bed and let out a soft breath. I closed my eyes as I rested my head on the pillow. It was nice to finally put my feet up. I was nice to finally be able to drift into a nice, easy sleep.

THUD.

Dawn had just fallen out of bed again. I opened my eyes and looked over to the other side of the bed. Dawn was awake, groggy but awake. She sat up on the floor, rubbing her head.

"Are you OK?" I asked, trying not to sound bored. It was the fifth time this week and it was only Wednesday. She nodded sheepishly before she climbed back into bed. She sat for a few moments like she was trying to remember something. I glanced at her.

"I swear I was having an important dream," she mumbled, "But for the life of me, I can't remember what about."

I nodded as she settled down in the covers. I smirked as her as she rolled over to face me. She scowled at me for a few seconds.

"It's not funny," she told me.

"I know," I replied. She stuck her tongue out at me and snuggled down into her pillow. She looked cute. I shuffled towards her and pulled into me. She opened one eye to look at me.

"Go away," she moaned, "Mr Grumpy."

For some reason that name had stuck with me since I was a child. She relented against my grip as I refused to let go. She let out a contented sigh as she snuggled up to me instead. I laid there for a while. Sleep refusing to take me even though Dawn had nodded off again. I looked up at the ceiling.

I was four when I met Dawn. I was six when I fell in love with her. We were engaged at the age of fourteen (not taken seriously until a few years later). We were married when we were sixteen. We had Dante a few months later. Our parents thought it was weird how we had changed so suddenly. We used to hate each other, apparently, then one day we were the best of friends. Our relationship always seemed to be natural, like we were meant to be together or something. I could never figure out why that was but I felt it. We were in love with each other, purely in love. We belonged together.

I closed my eyes finally and I instantly drifted off to sleep.

A green dragon like creature flashed in my eyes and I jolted awake. I looked around to see that Dawn was getting dressed. I glanced at the clock. It said seven am. I slowly sat up rubbing my head.

"You OK?" Dawn asked. I nodded. She left the room, probably not wanting to leave Dante to himself too long although he was probably vegetating in front of the TV by now. I looked around the now empty room wondering what on earth I had dreamt about. I swear it was something important but I couldn't remember what. I shrugged and pulled the covers off of me. Time to get dressed and start my day. Enough of this stupid dream nonsense.

I walked to work. Yes, I deem my duties at the City Gym as work, yet it wasn't really. It was more like a huge waste of my time. I had quite the reputation as being the strongest gym leader in the whole of Sinnoh. Bearing in mind I had qualified for being part of the Sinnoh Elite Four at the age of fifteen meant nothing, apparently. I had given up that life to settle down with Dawn which meant that I was between worlds, I guess. No one wanted to take me on. Those who did were soon out of my gym, crying for their mother's about how mean I was. I had given out a grand total of three badges in my short gym leader life. Those same three people had gone on to win the Sinnoh league or close to it. I am sure I could lock up my gym for a year and no one would notice the difference. Maybe Cynthia, the Champion, would complain. She liked to see her gym leaders busy.

So that is why I am working with a guy named Gary Oak. We'd met a few years ago when he was researching Suicune and I hadn't been able to get rid of him since. I don't know why he didn't bother me than he did. He was a cocky researcher with a sense of humour and a sense of leadership that I found I couldn't argue with. He talked to his aides like they were morons but always talked to me like an old comrade. We have no idea why. He found my criticisms good for his research like I found his instructions easy to follow. Currently, he was moping because his girlfriend had blown him off… again. I had nothing against Leaf (I had named her crazy sugar rush girl but it was too much to say so I resorted to calling her just Leaf), but whenever she blew off Oak, she left him a broken sop. She was cruel. I liked her.

As I walked into the gym I saw that Oak was talking to someone on the phone. It was Ketchum, one of the morons that had somehow 'defeated' me in my gym battle. I had to admit, it was his fifth time against me and I was sort of bored of him coming to challenge me. Ketchum hated me for throwing him the badge when in all actuality he had lost. I told him that with that sort of determination he could far and that I appreciate that I can see his potential. It was a load of rubbish but it was good rubbish the Pokémon League couldn't argue with.

"Is she alright?" Oak asked Ketchum. Ketchum nodded gravely.

"I have no idea what it was but it sort of attacked her," Ketchum explained, "It was like a person but not a person. I felt cold and scared but it wasn't interested in anything but Misty."

"When will she be out of hospital?" Oak asked. I shuffled towards the screen and leaned in. Ketchum acknowledged me with a nod before he continued to speak.

"In a few days," Ketchum replied, "We're about three days away from you."

"That's great," Oak said, "I'm sure we can come to the bottom of this."

"What's going on?" I asked, "If it's dangerous I can meet you."

"Really?" Ketchum asked, sounding hopeful. I nodded quickly.

"We're currently in Solaceon Town," Ketchum explained, "So not too far away."

"I'd rather you stay here," Oak told me. I raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed confused as to why he had said that but I nodded. "I can go and meet Ashy-boy."

"Great," Ketchum said, "I don't know how bad Misty will be."

"Carrot Top is strong," I told Ketchum as he looked downcast. He glanced at me. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Right," Ketchum agreed, "I'll call you when we're ready to leave."

"Great," Oak said, "I'll be ready for your call."

The screen switched off. Oak rubbed his eyes wearily. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"You OK?" I asked. He nodded slowly.

"I am so close," he told me, "To finding out why we act in ways we can't explain."

"This nonsense again," I retorted. Oak looked up at me. "You really think this is 'fate' or 'destiny'?"

"Yes," Oak replied. I sighed at his reply. It was all he ever went on about. No wonder Leaf ran away from him. "I am worried about this thing that attacked Misty though."

"Really?" I asked. Oak handed me a piece of paper. It was a drawing, most probably Ketchum's work. It looked like a person but it wasn't quite one. I looked at it a few times before I leaned into the face of the person. I recoiled and threw it back to Oak. Oak jumped at my action, neither of us expecting it to be so venomous.

"OK," I said, "I'm sold."

"I'll call Drew and make sure he, May and Leaf are OK," Oak said but it sounded more like a question. I nodded.

"I'll have a word with Raven too," I said, the words pouring out of my mouth before I could stop them. Oak merely nodded. We were getting too used to this. Oak gave me a smirk.

"No such things as fate and destiny?" he asked, "Well, it seems you were wrong."

"Somehow," I replied, "That's just the half of it."

**Like I said, I don't know when I'll feel up to updating stuff so I may pick it up by Friday or not. Don't worry, I will be back but may take some time since it's been a big shock and a big loss for all the family. And it does stop me from writing really, really, really depressing stuff too, so in a way I'm doing us all a favour.**

'**Til my next update,**

**RSx**


	2. A Shop Visit

**Sorry this is later than I wanted it to be. I had internet problems yesterday for no reason what so ever ¬_¬ stupid technology. Anyway, here's the second, slightly short chapter of Puppet Master. Hope you enjoy!**

**Thanks to ninetailsgirl94, Starfire1407, splitheart1120, LeafxGreenx3, AnimexLuver4Ever, dattebayo4321, Lynx of the Sand and sjir-sama for reviewing and for your kind messages also :) Also, thanks for everyone who favourited or put this story on alert :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

**Chapter Two: A Shop Visit**

I walked into the small shop room where Raven liked to make things. Dawn was currently dropping Dante off at day care so now was the perfect time to talk to Raven. Raven pretty much lived in the back room of the shop where she did all her sowing and making of things. I walked through the shop, hearing someone in the kitchen. It was probably that creepy model Dawn and Raven knew. I stepped into the back room, seeing Raven's hands on her sowing machine.

"Stop!" she screeched, "You'll trample my new design with those huge feet of yours."

See, she was clearly an angel sent from above to guide me. I froze on the spot, not daring to take another step. The floor was littered with pieces of fabric in some sort of shape. I looked up at the sowing machine. Her head poked up from her sowing machine. Her sea green hair with tied back into a graceful plat. Her eyes were wide like she wasn't expecting it to be me.

"Oh," she said, her voice softer this time, "I didn't think it was you."

"Clearly," I stated. Her eyes softened as she straightened up. She looked pleased to see me like she usually did. There was something about her that made her feel like a younger sister to me. The annoying younger sister that loved to pester me about stuff and generally annoy me. Leaf and the others were the same, I guess but Raven was definitely the worst for it.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She also had the knack of reading my expression. Sure, she wasn't as good as dawn was but it was still pretty annoying that she could tell that something was wrong with me.

"I came to ask you something," I stated. I pulled the piece of paper Oak had given me from my pocket. I handed it to Raven, avoiding the fabric on the floor as I walked towards her. She took it gently and unfolded it. She gazed over the drawing until she scrunched it up and threw it back at me. I blinked as the paper ball hit me in the chest. Her eyes blazed for a few seconds before she shook her head.

"Sorry," she said quickly, "I don't know why I did that."

"It's fine," I replied. I sat down on a stool that she kept by the door for visits just like this. She eyed me carefully like she was expecting me to shout at her for scrunching up the paper. I couldn't really care less what she did to the paper, especially when I had the same sort of reaction to it.

"So is that what you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, "That drawing?"

I nodded once. Raven thought about it for a few seconds but in the end she went back to her sowing on the machine. She was still thinking about it as she sowed two pieces of fabric together with perfect ease. I watched her for a few seconds until the front door opened. The bell over the door chimed. I turned round to see Dawn enter the shop.

"Paul?" I heard her ask. She stood in the door way for a few seconds staring at me until she sighed and walked across the shop. She walked into the room and glanced between us, leaning on the door frame with her arms folded across her chest. It was strange that she never got annoyed when I showed up unannounced. I guess she figured the reason why I was talking to Raven was important or something like that. I suppose it was another good thing about our relationship. We both felt secure, no matter what or who we were with. There were never any questions asked about Raven or any of the other girls. Dawn seemed to understand that Raven was like my sister like I seemed to understand that Drew and Silver were nothing but brothers to her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Paul testing my brain again," Raven muttered, "I hate it when he does that."

Dawn smiled before she turned away from us: "Coffee?"

"Please," Raven yelled. I got up from my chair and went to help Dawn make three cups of coffee. I never stayed for drinks. If it would take this long for Raven to get me an answer, I figured it would be better for me to get back to Oak. I walked through the shop where the weird model was sat reading a magazine. Celeste, was her name apparently although I much preferred calling her Madame Caramel, looked up and gave me a wink. I ignored her.

Dawn was in the kitchen of the shop. She was mixing instant coffee into three mugs. She glanced at me as I stood in the doorway.

"What's Gary up to now?" she asked.

"Talking about fate and destiny once more," I replied. Dawn let out a giggle. She walked over to me and pecked me on the lips.

"So Raven will be thinking about it all day?" she asked as she put her arms round my neck. I nodded. She smiled at me in a weird sort of way that made me sort of confused.

"What?" I asked.

"You're just like Gary," she told me, "Always running after something that's not there."

"What do you mean?" I asked. She shrugged in my arms.

"You four are all the same," she went on, "Chasing dreams and goals that I don't think you'll ever be able to reach."

"I have goals?" I asked. She drew away from me as the kettle clicked. She shook her head slightly at me.

"You do," she said. She poured the boiling hot water into the mugs and glanced at me. "You want to be the best father ever as well as the Champion as well as protecting me from this unknown thing you fear."

"Too much?" I asked.

"Definitely," she told me.

"I'll give up on the Championship for now," I replied. Dawn clicked her tongue at me. She always took the stance that she knew perfectly well how to look after herself, but I never wanted her to do that. Call me old fashioned or a little over protective, well very over protective, but I never wanted to see her in danger.

"Paul Shinji," she addressed me. She turned and pointed a spoon threateningly at me. I was in big trouble now as you can see. I looked at the spoon. "You do not need to protect me. End of."

"I need to protect you," I told her sternly, "So that you have more time to look after Dante."

"Oh," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "So I can't do both?"

I let out a short chuckle. A smile crawled onto her face as I held up my hands.

"I'd prefer you to do the one," I told her. I leant on the door frame. "Since I'm a useless gym leader, I may as well take over that job for you."

"I would prefer you to do something for yourself," she said as she stirred the drinks. I nodded.

"I really don't want to do anything else," I replied.

"Find yourself a hobby then," she told me, "So you stop bugging me at work."

"Fine, fine," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Maybe he should become a model," Madame Caramel shouted from the other room, "We'd look awesome together."

"Won't your girlfriend get jealous?" Raven yelled back. Madame Caramel made a childish noise as if she was sticking her tongue out at Raven. The three girls giggled. Dawn glanced at me, her smile fading slightly.

"Something wrong?" she asked. I shook my head.

"I should get back to Oak," I said, "By the way, Misty and Ash will be coming to see us in a few days."

"That's great," Dawn said happily. I smirked at her.

"I'll talk to you later," I said.

"Have a nice day," she sang as I left the room. I glanced at Madame Caramel as I walked through the shop. She smiled at me in a weird way.

"It'll be oki," she muttered, "It always will be."

I blinked a few times. Slightly weirded out by this I left the shop without another word. It took me a few seconds to compose myself before I set off to Oak's lab once more.

**Hope that wasn't too bad for everyone :) Sorry if this seemed short. Please don't forget to review!**

**RSx**


	3. A Story Book

**So internet problems have slowed me down again *glares at internet box thingy* but here is the next chapter of Puppet Master.**

**Big thanks and cyber cookies too splitheart1120, dattebayo4321, Lynx of the Sand, ninetailsgirl94, sjir-sama, LeafxGreenx3, Starfire1407, Dorkaclious and mednin for reviewing :)**

**This story is turning out a little more serious than Rocket Academy but I think that's partly due to Paul's POV. He's got a rather dry sense of humour while Dawn would find every little thing funny. I hope to increase the humour though the more I channel Paul… Scary thought there but on with the show!**

**Chapter Three: A Story Book**

Dante slapped a book on the table in front of me. Currently I was sat at the dinning table with a stack of paper by my elbow. It was all paperwork. I wasn't joking about Cynthia liking to see us busy. I glanced at my son. His large blue eyes looking hopefully as he peered up at me. He was barely tall enough to hold onto the table even on tip toes. I glanced at the book.

"Rayquarza and the Quest for the Emerald?" I read aloud. Dante nodded his head quickly. I was confused for a few seconds. "I thought you liked your Suicune books."

"I want daddy read this one," Dante told me, scowling slightly at me. I chuckled.

"Give me five minutes," I said, "I just need to do some work and I'll read you your story."

"OK!" Dante cheered. He ran off leaving me the book. I looked at the front cover. Why the sudden change in heart? He usually liked his Suicune books not stuff like this. I shrugged anyway and went back to doing my paperwork.

Four minutes later I was aware that Dante was staring at me once more with that same pleading look in his eyes. I looked at him and then at my watch. I had twenty seconds to go. I signed the last few pieces of paper, checking only the last to make sure I hadn't signed my gym away. How many gym leaders would do that? I knew I had a lack of ethics when I did paperwork but I was one of the better ones.

"OK then," I said standing up. Dante beamed at me. He ran back into the living room. I picked up the book he wanted me to read and followed him. He was sat patiently on the sofa, swinging his legs. I sat down beside him. He instantly crawled up to me and stared at me, waiting for me to begin reading.

"Once upon a time," I began reading, "There lived a mean Rayquarza who lived all alone in his castle."

"Mean, mean Wayqwarsi," Dante commented. I turned the page of the book and showed him the picture.

"His castle was on a huge rock in the middle of the ocean," I continued, "No one could ever get there."

"What 'bout boat?" Dante asked, titling his head to the side. I pointed at the picture.

"Too many rocks," I said, "Boats would hit them and sink."

"Wet," Dante said.

"One day Rayquarza had a guest," I went on, "It was a Jirachi. Jirachi giggled at Rayquarza and said that the legendary Emerald that Rayquarza loved so much was missing."

"Oh no!" Dante yelled. I glanced at him. Jiriachi, huh? What a stupid looking Pokémon. However, as I looked at the picture, all I could think about was Oak. I blinked a few times before I turned the page.

"Rayquarza was so mad he let out a roar," I said.

"Roar!" Dante shouted jumping to his feet. I tugged on his top to make him sit down again. He giggled.

"'I must go and find the Emerald,' Rayquarza said, 'It is so dear to me, I can't live without it,'" I said, "So Rayquarza set off on his journey to find the Emerald. On his way he came across Groudon who told him that his Sapphire had gone."

"What a sapphire?" Dante asked.

"A gem, like an emerald but its blue," I replied.

"I want one!" Dante said smiling, "It blue!"

"Rayquarza told the Groudon that he was looking for his Emerald and that they should look together," I said, "So the two of them set off together. Everything was good for a while until they bumped into Kyogre."

"He lost somethin'?" Dante asked. I nodded.

"He said he'd lost a Ruby," I read out, "So Groudon and Rayquarza let Kyogre travel with them to find the gems."

"And did find gems?" Dante asked, looking at the book. I turned the page while repressing a sigh. So many questions. It sort of reminded me of the time we took Ketchum to the cinema in Mahog- Wait… I had never been to Mahogany Town with Ketchum or the other guys. I paused longer than I should have while I thought about this.

"_Oh come on Ash, enough with the stinking popcorn!" Oak yelled._

"_We're going to miss the opening credits," Hayden moaned. I glared at the two of them before I walked off._

"_Leave him to it," I told them. Oak and Hayden nodded before they followed me into the right screening of the new Ranger movie. _

"Daddy?" Dante asked. My head snapped back to my son. He was looking at me with a curious, yet worried expression on his face. I let out a breath I didn't even realise I had been holding. "What wrong? You sick?"

"No, Dante, I'm fine," I lied. I felt goose-bumps crawl up my skin. The boy looked confused as I stood up and walked into the kitchen. I got myself a glass of water.

"_Awh man, you guys," Ketchum moaned as he eventually found us in the screen, "It took me ages to find you."_

I gripped onto the side, panting hard. What was this? Why was I seeing this even though I had never, ever been to Mahogany Town with those three? Why?

I glanced up at the window. I saw my reflection for a split second before it was replaced by the face of a green dragon. I jumped backwards.

"Paul?"

I jumped and turned round. Raven's head was tilted to the side, her mouth slightly open and her eyebrows knitted together in complete and utter confusion.

"You look like hell," she told me. I ran a hand through my hair.

"Daddy sick," Dante said as he peered round Raven's legs. I glanced at my son for a few seconds. He looked scared to death. Raven, however, started to laugh. Dante looked up at him.

"Daddy is fine, go play upstairs," Raven told him. The small boy nodded and ran off. Raven's expression darkened once Dante left. "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't know," I replied, pointing at the window, "I saw a green dragon."

"You on LSD or something?" Raven asked. I shook my head, frown forming on my face. Raven nodded slowly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I remembered something," I told her, "But it never happened."

Raven was a smart kid and highly spiritual. She saw the spiritual world as a play thing which was sort of bad but useful. She tilted her head to the side once more, biting her lip as she thought of something to say. In the end she gave me a wide smile.

"Dude, what have you been drinking?" she asked before laughing loudly, "Seriously, you look like you've been slipping pills or something."

"I haven't," I snapped. Raven waved her hand.

"Well, it's nothing," she said, "Dawn sent me to pick up some fabric. It's upstairs, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. Raven turned her back to me. She paused in the door way for a few seconds.

_She suddenly looked behind at me, her hair sweeping round with her movement. _

"_Dude you seriously love her," she told me._

"What?" I asked. Raven glanced round at me looking highly confused.

"What?" she asked.

"You said something," I said.

"No I didn't," she replied. We gazed worriedly at each other for a few seconds until Raven shook her head and left me standing oddly in the kitchen. I glanced at the window. The dragon thing had disappeared. I rubbed my forehead roughly before following Raven upstairs so I could check on Dante.

He was happily playing with his toys in his bedroom. I was glad. I turned and walked towards the storeroom where Raven was attempting to get a roll of fabric from a rack. The moment she saw me she stepped to the side so I could get it for her. Feeling as though I had no other choice, I decided to help her. I grabbed the roll of fabric and pulled it from the rack. She clapped shortly before I placed it in her hands.

"You do have your uses," she told me but adding a laugh at the end of it so I knew it was a joke. Like my sense of humour is that lacking. She glanced at me, smile slowly fading. "Paul."

"Yeah," I said. She bit her lip.

"That picture you showed me this morning," she said slowly. She bit her lip once more. "I have a really bad feeling that something is coming. Someone really bad is coming and he means business."

"You did a tarot reading?" I asked. She nodded. I did too. Slowly Raven shuffled past me and left the small storeroom. I heard her say good bye to Dante before she walked downstairs. I felt slightly glued to the floor. I managed to pull myself from the storeroom so I could let Raven out. She had just finished putting on her shoes when I re-joined her. She cast me a worried look before she smiled again.

"Lighten up, dude," she told me, "It can't be that bad."

"Yeah," I said but I wasn't convinced. Raven shook her head before she opened the door for herself.

"I'll warn Dawn that you've got the crazies again," she said, "Bye."

"Bye," I replied. She was gone before I could even wave. Was I crazy? Maybe I was, I couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Feeling like there was nothing else I could do about my mental state, I turned and returned to my son's side. At least he wouldn't judge this purple haired crazy man.

And yes, I just admitted I was crazy.

**I love Dante! Anyway, *ahem* that was a slightly longer chapter than the last. I hope you enjoyed it! Is it me or does being a father suit Paul? Oh yeah, there will be flashbacks from Rocket Academy but also ones that never happened cos Dawn wasn't around when stuff happened like with the cinema thingy. **

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	4. A Headache

**Hopefully this chapter will be a bit more like Rocket Academy :) And there's a familiar face from that story too. Woo!**

**Thanks to IgglybuffPichuandOrcha3000, Lynx of the Sand, mednin, LuckyTigger, ninetailsgirl94, splitheart1120, LeafxGreenx3, sjir-sama and rin916 for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Anyway, onwards to the chapter. I don't own Pokémon.**

**Chapter Four: A Headache**

Now this was going to be a headache in the making, I thought briefly before I heard five girls scream their loudest. I wasn't wrong. Within two seconds I had a headache. I glanced to my right to gage Oak's reaction. He smirked at me and pointed to his ears.

Gary Oak, Pokémon Professor. He thought of everything. In his ears sat yellow ear plugs. I glared at him, cursing him for his clever thinking. Why hadn't I thought of that? Where had he gotten those ear plugs from? Why weren't the girls shutting up?

I quickly picked up Dante and stuffed him into his mother's flailing arms. Instantly the tight circle of teens fell silent and the four of us guys let out a sigh.

"Quick thinking," Oak muttered to me as he took out his ear plugs.

"Thanks," I replied. I looked across at Hayden. The cheesy grasshead waved at me before stepping round the girls. He did this carefully as if they would explode if he got too close. Personally I didn't blame him. Dawn could be such a kid sometimes. The usual remedy for that was to stuff her son in her arms. It had yet to fail. Maybe when he is a teenager.

"Yo," Hayden greeted us, "I'm glad I'm not alone in this."

Ketchum came round the other side of the girls, watching Carrot Top carefully. He let out a sigh. We exchanged pleasantries along with fist knocking and the occasional handshake. We were men. This is how men acted. It seemed so much more civilised than the women. I glanced across at my wife just in time for Dante to be plopped back into my arms.

"I'm parcel in Pass Parcel!" Dante yelled. I blinked several times. This kid was far too cheery to be mine. I knew Dawn must have cheated on me with Reggie. That's the only explanation. How would I react to this if it was true? Personally, I wouldn't be surprised, slightly annoyed at Dawn's choice in effeminate men and the cliché of it all but not surprised at all. I inclined my head to the right as Dawn swarmed round me with her friends.

Carrot Top had bandages on her arms. Bandana had her hand on her hip. Raven looked as though she was at peace with the world. Dawn, my darling, lovely wife, looked like she was on crack or its street equivalent. Leaf was smiling at Dante like she had found a new Skitty. I shifted Dante in my arms slightly as Leaf continued to stare at him. It was a defensive thing but I felt my son was going to be kidnapped any second by the mad, sugar rush girl.

"Paul is so macho," Leaf giggled instead, "Just watch him protect Dante. It's so cute."

I raised my eyebrows. I hated the word macho and the word 'cute' killing my ego slightly. I glanced at Dawn.

"I guess he is," Dawn agreed happily. I let out a sigh. So this is how my wife defends me? Great. Oak patted my back hard while Hayden sniggered at me.

"Just wait until you're married," I told him.

"Well, we weren't stupid enough to get caught by the baby bug," Oak told me while holding back a laugh. I paused for a spilt second. Get caught by the baby bug? I glanced at Dante. There was always something weird about his… creation, I thought. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Dawn and I had always been very careful and then boom, she was pregnant. Again, another supporting factor for my theory the kid was Reggie's and not mine.

Reggie did have that wild birthday party that I can't remember half of, just before Dante would have had to be 'created'… Now this was just getting ridiculous. I glanced at Dawn.

"What?" she asked. I shook my head to tell her nothing was wrong. She eyed me carefully for a few moments until Misty put a hand on her shoulder.

"So you wanna go catch up?" she asked.

"Wonderful idea, Misty," May cheered, "It's been like forever since we last saw each other."

"Yeah, we want to know how little Dante is coming along too," Leaf added, trying to grab for my son. I shifted him in my arms so that when Leaf made a grab for him, she missed and stumbled. Leaf glared at me for making her stumble.

"Paul," Dawn warned me.

There are those moments I hate in my life when I had to decide to listen to my wife's mental commands or look like a totally whipped idiot in front of my friends. It was never an easy thing to consider. Maybe it would have been harder if Silver was present but he wasn't. Still, the others seemed to enjoy making fun of me. On the other side of the argument, Dawn would probably yell at me and probably not talk to me for a week if I ignored her.

"Let's go together," I said finally, "I don't think I fully trust them with me son's sanity."

"Who?" Ketchum asked.

"Any of you," I replied. Dante looked confused as he glanced between me and his mother. Dawn paused for a moment before she nodded.

"I suppose you're right," she giggled.

"Hey!" was the reply she got from all of our friends.

Fifteen minutes later we were sat in a small restaurant. Raven had taken over looking after Dante since the rest of us were talking. She was currently helping him colour in some puzzle on the kiddie's menu.

"So how is married life, Paul?" I heard Hayden ask me with a tone laced with sarcasm. I glanced at him.

"Better than single life," I replied. Hayden glared at me. "So you two still aren't dating yet?"

"No," Hayden snapped.

"Poor Drewy bear," Oak mocked.

"Well at least I'm doing better than you, Mr my girlfriend left me to go travelling with her best friend," Hayden argued.

"That's harsh, man," Ketchum said, "Having your girlfriend up and leave you like that."

"He cried for a week," I told Ketchum, "Kept saying 'I want Leaf back' over and over."

"That's not true," Oak snapped hurriedly. Ketchum laughed at Oak for a few seconds. Silence followed after that. I watched Raven and Dante play for a few seconds until I looked at Dawn. She was happily talking to the other women about their travels.

"Is it me," Hayden said suddenly, "Or does it seem like we've been chasing them too long?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's just that… I don't know," Hayden replied, "It's like we've been through this whole trying to get the girl thing before and look, we still don't have them."

"That's true," Oak agreed. I glanced down at my knife and fork. Slowly I moved them so they were laid straight.

"Anything weird happen to you lately?" Hayden asked.

"Apart from Misty being attacked, no," Ketchum replied.

"I've had this air of nostalgia," I said suddenly, "Like I'm remembering things that I know haven't happened."

"Explain," Oak said.

"I remembered going to the cinema in Mahogany town with you three," I explained slowly. The others pulled faces as if they understood what I meant.

"We've never been to Mahogany Town together," Oak told me. I nodded.

"I remember the ice cream parlour," Ketchum said seriously, "How we were eating there and chatting about something."

"And I remember school," Hayden added, "Where we went each morning. We sat together."

"That's weird," Oak said, "Because I remember that too."

"_Ow," Hayden moaned, "Mr Grumpy."_

"_Yo, Hayden," Oak called from the front of class, "What you doing to my seat?"_

"_Paul punched me," Hayden snapped back in return. He sat straight on his own chair as Gary walked towards him._

"_There's an easy way to avoid that," Oak said in a matter of fact sort of tone, "Don't kick the hornet's nest."_

"So what if it really did happen?" Ketchum asked seriously, "And how come we remember it all?"

"I get the feeling we're not remembering it all," Oak replied, "Just fragments of the past."

We paused to think for the next few minutes. Oak had his hand on his chin while Hayden had his and the back of his head. Ketchum was sat with his arms crossed and head hung low. It seemed like a long time until somebody spoke. However, it wasn't any of us, it was Raven.

"Oh, that's strange," she said almost distractedly. I looked up at her like the other guys. Raven was staring across the room at someone. Slowly we all looked round.

Stood wearing a suit and tie with business trousers and shiny black shoes was none other than Silver. His blood red hair, I would have known anywhere. We sat staring oddly at him for a few minutes until he looked up and glanced at us.

"Silver!" Raven yelled as she stood up and rushed to her brother. She tackled him into a hug. Silver merely let out a sigh as he hugged his sister back, looking slightly put out by her reaction. I could see why when another man stepped into the restaurant a few seconds later. This guy also had red hair but he was much older than Silver. His hair was spiky. Raven slowly let go of her brother and looked at the new comer.

"I didn't think you were so popular with the ladies, Silver," the man teased.

"She's my sister," Silver explained, "She lives in the city."

"Hi, my name is Raven," Raven introduced herself. The guy smiled and looked round the room until he saw me.

"Paul Shinji?" he asked. I stood up slowly as I nodded. "Ah, the infamous Sinnoh Elite Four member."

"Ex-Elite Four member," I corrected him.

"That's true," the guy said with a slight chuckle, "I'm Lance from Johto."

"I've heard so much about you," I said as the name jogged my memory, "Honestly, Cynthia never shuts up about you."

"Is that so?" Lance asked raising an eyebrow. Lanced stepped forwards and shook my hand. I smirked at him as he grinned at me. "Well, I see you're taking your new job seriously."

"Honestly, I can't remember when I last had a challenger," I replied, "Not many trainers come to challenge me."

"How strange," Lance commented. He looked round the table for a few seconds before nodding. I glanced over to see what Raven and Silver were doing. Currently they were whispering to each other, both frowning. Lance took a step back. "I guess I'll leave you to your company for now."

"No," Leaf said, standing up quickly. She froze before she sweat-dropped.

"What Leaf means is would you like to join us?" Carrot-Top asked. Leaf nodded quickly. Lance turned to see what Silver was doing.

"If we wouldn't be intruding," Lance said.

"Not at all," May said. The guys, all through this deliberation, had their mouths hanging open like they just couldn't believe it. I sighed at my friends before I sat down. The girls hurried to make space for Lance. Dawn was shoved right up against my seat as the others made room for Lance. Lance ended up taking the place beside Dante and Leaf. I smirked as I looked at Oak. He was crying silently while Hayden and Ketchum tried to calm him down.

Silver took a place beside me and Hayden. He glanced across at Oak.

"Wow," he said dryly, "Could you be a bigger girl?"

Oak snapped his head up to glare at Silver for a few seconds before he went back to crying. Raven slipped back into her seat.

"So, who is this cutie?" Lance asked, ruffling Dante's hair.

"Oh, that's Paul's kid," Silver replied before Dawn or I could say anything. Dawn shot a glare at him.

"Excuse me," Dawn snapped, "He's my son too you know."

"You two seem a little young to be looking after a child," Lance said.

"He's our son," Dawn replied, "Who else would look after him if we didn't?"

"So you're his mother?" Lance asked, raising his eyebrows at us.

"Of course," Dawn replied coldly. I knew where this was going. I put my hand on hers to calm her down.

"We're a little unorthodox but perfectly happy and able to look after Dante," I said before Lance could ask anymore questions. I kept glancing across at Lance as he talked to Raven and Leaf. It felt as though I'd met him before but I couldn't put my finger on it. My eyes travelled onto Silver who was talking to Hayden in a serious manner. Silver was even more serious than I was. No wonder he was a hot shot business man.

"Oh, Lyra," Lance said suddenly before he let out a laugh, "Oh yes, she's a member of my Elite Four now."

"Wow, no way," Leaf squealed. Which one was Lyra? Oh yeah, I remember her. I called her Mushroom Head because of that giant white hat she usually wears. I glanced at Silver to gage his reaction. Apparently, and I didn't know all of the story, Mushroom Head had dumped Silver for a chance to join the Elite Four. Poor Silver was so heart broken (well so he claimed in a purely uninterested and bored tone over a phone conversation) that he had founded the Soul Foundation and become the richest man in Kanto. Silver didn't display any emotion on his face as Lance brought up Mushroom Head.

"She's always been a good trainer," Raven mumbled, "But a lousy sister."

"She's always been a good sister to us," Carrot Top replied.

Yes, I remembered Mushroom Head's sisterly-ness towards the girls. The time they went shopping and disappeared for three days only for me to receive a call from Goldenrod City, telling me that my wife my be away for a few more days. Then there was the time when Mushroom Head suggested to Leaf that she should travel for a while. Cue Oak to be in tears and Leaf no where to be seen.

Truth be told, Mushroom Head did a good job of looking after all of us. She'd saved our lives more times than I would like to admit to. Especially during our first year at the Academy when we…

I felt like slapping my head. I ran a hand through my hair as I tried to recall what I was thinking. It was like it was just there on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't spit it out.

"Something wrong, Paul?" Silver asked me. I glanced over to him. I didn't nod or shake my head. I just stared at him. In the end he smirked. "You know there's a lot of odd things happening recently."

"Oh really?" Hayden asked.

"Yes," Silver replied, "Have you ever heard of Team Rocket?"

A billion images flashed in my head. The big letter R. The Academy. The base at Mount Moon. Missions. School work. A uniform. A mad man smiling at me. My father fighting. My mother on the floor dead.

"I don't think this is the place to talk," I growled. Silver nodded slowly, a smirk on his face. The five of us stared at each other as the girls and Lance laughed over something. As I glanced around at my four closest friends, I realised something. I was not alone in this one bit.

**So Silver is back. Yay! Told you this story was fast moving. Hehe. I do feel sorry for Gary though. Leaf is turning out to be very mean in this, right?**

**Please review.**

**RSx**


	5. A Mother's Meeting

**So yeah, here's the next chapter :) **

**Thanks to IgglybuffPichuandOrcha3000, LeafxGreenx3, mednin, ninetailsgirl94, Lynx of the Sand and sjir-sama for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

**Chapter Five: A Mother's Meeting**

"This is the thing I saw attack Misty," Ketchum told us the next day as the five of us crowded into Oak's lab. Ketchum showed us this picture of a man like creature. The man was silver haired with a wicked smile on his face. Out of his sides were this gold bars like some sort of ornament you would find in a garden or something. In his chest sat a green stone.

"Wyre," Silver spat. We turned to him for a few seconds wondering where he'd pulled that name from. Silver paused and shook his head obviously confused at what had just been said. I looked over the picture once more. Of course it was him. I bit my lip as I recalled the person in question. His haughty smile, his cruel voice and his deadly force.

"I remember him," I growled.

"So do I," Hayden replied, "And there's nothing good about it."

"How do we know him though?" Oak asked.

"Good question," Ketchum said, "I can't pin point it."

"It was at the academy," Silver stated. I nodded in agreement.

"What academy?" Hayden asked.

"I've never been to an academy," Oak told us. I glanced at Silver for an explanation.

"I don't know everything about the place," Silver said slowly, "But I do remember it. Some of it."

"So do we, I think," Oak agreed.

"Team Rocket were once a criminal group who threatened to take over the four regions," Silver explained, "At the time I was just a kid but I remember some of it."

"Yeah, I remember them too," Oak said.

"The mastermind of it all was my father, Giovanni," Silver continued, "But he was killed along with a lot of his supporters in an accident in Mount Moon."

"There was a base there," I said. Silver nodded.

"In that explosion my father, his second in command, my mother and loads others were killed," Silver went on, "Including one Wyre Fitzgerald."

"Who is our mystery man?" Oak asked. Silver nodded again. "So why is here now?"

"Is he a zombie?" Ketchum asked.

"Could explain the weird stone and gold bits," Hayden muttered. I looked over the picture once more. I had seen those gold bits before. It reminded me of a Pokémon but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Ash," Oak said to Ketchum, "What can you remember from the attack?"

"Well, it all happened so fast," Ketchum told us, "We were walking towards Hearthome City, you know just setting off from Solecean Town when this guy just appeared out of no where. He looked at us and said 'well this is helpful with the two of you being together' and then he just attacked us. Only Misty got hit by an attack and then the something happened to the guy and he disappeared."

"And that's it?" Hayden asked. Ketchum nodded in an honest way.

"He seemed to morph for a few seconds like he wasn't really a human but a Pokémon," Ketchum went on, "Like he was failing to keep up a mirage or something."

"Oh Arceus," Oak snapped suddenly, causing us to turn round and look at him. He had seemingly split his coffee down his lab coat. He let out a sigh as he dabbed at the stained material. Hayden laughed at Oak's misfortunes. I smirked and glanced back at the picture.

"Arceus," I mumbled. I walked over to the picture and held it up. Those gold bits and the gem too. I had seen them before in a book, one of Dante's picture books in fact, about Arceus. The guys looked at me like I was mad. Silver snatched the piece of paper out of my hands before he stared at it too.

"Well, I'll be," Silver said, "It is Arceus."

"How would you know that?" Oak asked.

"I've seen those before in a book," I explained, "One of Dante's picture books."

"A child's book?" Hayden snapped, "Come on Paul, seriously?"

"The majority of my reading is my son's stupid legendary books," I retorted, "Once you have children, you'll soon learn the pleasure of those horrible things. Suicune went to dinner with Lugia and they talked about the sea being so quiet and how nothing was exciting as when all of them got together and how they missed the other four. I don't know how Dante likes them."

"Dude, you are so domesticated," Hayden laughed. My eyebrow twitched slightly at the use of the word 'domesticated'. I wanted to dump Dante on him right there and then and see how he would handle being a parent at such a young age. Hell, I'd adjusted at an even younger age. Now the grass haired freak was thinking I was funny? I didn't have to put up with this.

"Paul has always been the responsible one," Silver said as if to defuse the situation, "He's always been the one to make hard decisions and protect others with his own life so he can preserve something more."

"Erm…" Oak said, "OK."

Silver glanced at me. His silver eyes were filled with some sad emotion, regret and anguish over something. I questioned the look in his eyes. Why was he so sad?

"What's wrong?" I asked. Silver looked away from me. "Silver?"

"One of the recurring visions I have is not good," Silver replied slowly, "But because I see it so much, I think it could be important."

"And what's that then?" Ketchum asked. Silver cast me another mournful look before he replied.

"Paul died," he stated bluntly, "I remember consoling Dawn while she gripped his body so close to her. She wept over him so sadly. The blood was running from a gun shot wound and his mouth. He was pale and just still. And then I remember telling them: This is how it was meant to end. Arceus said so himself. He did everything he could for us… This time."

"I can't remember anything like that," Hayden said nervously.

"I have a theory," Oak stated from out of the blue, "Actually, it's something that I've been thinking about for a while."

"Go on," Silver prompted.

"Well, many people think that there are a number of realities," Oak explained, "That are caused by decisions made by an individual and-"

"I don't think it's an 'alternative reality'," Silver said, "If it were then we wouldn't have a connection to it. Alternative realities run side by side. They don't know about us and we don't know about them."

"So what then?" Oak snapped.

"We reset time to make sure things would be happier."

We jumped and turned to see Raven stood in the door way. She walked towards us and glared at us.

"So you remember too?" Silver asked.

"I remember a lot of things, Silver," Raven replied coldly, "I can't believe you've gone behind our backs with all this."

"Raven, we're sorry," Oak said calmly, "We just wanted to know-"

"I don't care," Raven snapped, "I told you all that this was a bad thing to dwell on. Dawn, Misty, Leaf, May and Lyra told you to stop pursuing all of this. What has it done all this thinking? It's left you all out in the cold."

"Raven, we just want answers," Ketchum said.

"No, you want to make things wrong again," Raven shouted. She composed herself for a few seconds. "Just leave it alone. Please. You're missing out on so much of your life, wasting your time on such silly nonsense."

"It's not silly nonsense," Silver said to his sister. The two siblings squared up to each other. It looked like there was going to be a fight. Raven's expression was reflecting everything Silver's was. They were both stubborn and determined to win. Something had to be done before Raven stormed out in a huff and told the others on us. She was like that when she knew she couldn't win.

"You're driving everyone away from you," she said finally in a calm and sedate voice, "May, Leaf, Misty and Lyra. They all avoid you for this reason. May's been trying to break away from Drew. Misty and Leaf are almost always together. Even Dawn spends more of her time in the shop or with Dante now."

The last sentence hit me hard. I hadn't realised until now that this was happening. How much time had I spent with Dawn recently? Not very much. I glanced round at the stubborn faces of my friends as they glared at Raven. Inside, they must have known she was telling the truth but on the outside they weren't showing it. Was finding the truth as important as my family? No it wasn't.

I stood up straight, having been lent against a table for some time. I unfolded my arms and made to leave the lab.

"Hey, Paul," Oak called to me, "Where are you going?"

"Home," I replied.

"But we're not done here," Silver snapped. I stopped walking and turned round to them.

"I am," I told them, "Unlike you four, you don't have a family. I do. You can go where ever you want without having to care for those who are depending on you. Raven's right when she says I've been pushing them away. I can't afford to lose either of them like you can so easily give up on yours."

"Paul, we have to find out what this all means," Hayden said quickly. I gazed over all of them. Raven's expression showed her surprise at my actions while the others just looked annoyed. I shrugged.

"I'd rather concentrate on the things I know I have," I said, "Rather than the things I think I might remember."

Raven glared at her brother before she walked over to me. I guess she was content with just persuading me at this moment in time but I couldn't care less about what she thought. I turned and left my friends gaping after me. I glanced at Raven by my side.

"Don't," I warned as she opened her mouth to say something. She shut it quickly. She stared ahead of her.

"You know I'm right," she said. I didn't acknowledge this. In fact I ignored it completely. "Paul."

I looked down at the green haired girl. She didn't look at me.

"I'm glad you're you," she stated blankly, "For Dawn's sake."

I watched Raven look at me. She gave me a smile but her eyes told a different tale. They were filled with sadness and guilt. I looked ahead of me as we walked down the empty street. She didn't have to say anything but I knew. She'd seen what Silver had too.

**So Paul's been set straight by Raven. How much does Raven know? What will Paul do next? Find out next update! Please review!**

**RSx**


	6. A Bedroom Chat

**First of all, I really, really, really need to do some more work on this story. I've almost caught up to myself, again!**

**Anyway, thanks to sjir-sama, Lynx of the Sand, mednin, LuckyTigger, splitheart1120, ninetailsgirl94 and XJessicaLeighX18 for reviewing! Cyber cookies for all.**

**Chapter Six: A Bedroom Chat**

I put my arm round Dawn's waist and pulled her into my body that night when we laid in bed. She glanced over her shoulder at me, confused as to why I suddenly began cuddling her. She rolled her eyes.

"I need to be up early tomorrow," she told me. I raised my head off the pillow for a few seconds, confused by what she meant.

"Oh," I said as I worked it out, "No, I don't want that. I just wanted to hold you."

"Hold me?" Dawn asked, "Why?"

"Do I need a reason to hold my wife in a completely innocent and loving way?" I asked. She sat up and turned to face me. She was frowning at me like I had done something completely wrong.

"Are you sick?" she asked bluntly.

"No," I replied.

"Curious," she said, "Why with the sudden lovingness?"

I sat up too, shuffling ever so slightly closer to her. She eyed me suspiciously. I might as well get straight to the point, I supposed as I cleared my throat.

"I know that I've been weird lately with this whole dream and memory thing," I explained. Dawn nodded in agreement. Wow, I loved her reassurance and her support. It's not like I had completely left her to defend for herself. Still, pushing this aside, I continued: "And I know that you've felt like I'm pushing you away."

"Really?" she asked. There was a patronising tone to her voice that I ignored for now.

"I'm sorry," I stated, "I've been ignoring you for far too long and I know I shouldn't be."

"It's a start," Dawn sighed as she lay back down. I followed suit, pulling her into me once more. She snuggled against my chest.

"You and Dante," I said, "Are the most important things in my life. You make me whole."

Dawn shifted her head so that she was looking at me. Her chin rested on my chest. Her eyes were looking over my face. She was waiting for more.

"I love you," I told her. She smiled at me.

"I love you too," she replied. She snuggled into me and closed her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as she drifted off to sleep. I stayed awake for a while after she slipped into slumber. There were still things buzzing in my head no matter how much I wanted them to settle down. Why me? Why can't I have a normal life and a normal family without this shadow of the past looming over me? It was like this life was tailored for me, set out by some unknown destiny. I knew Dawn when I was younger. We came together and in time, we were drawn to the others. It was like it was some huge clash of fate. We were meant to be together.

But there was piece in the puzzle I didn't quite understand. It was something that didn't fit into my old life. Something that was out of place in this reality as well as whatever it was before.

"_You've recently accepted something very important. This time next year you'll be a mother. Don't worry, you'll be married too."_

I blinked several times as Raven's voice shot through my head. I remembered it so clearly that there was no doubt that it was anything but the reality. I remembered looking at Dawn with sudden interest, jealousy brimming in my stomach. Whoever it was she was marrying, he'd better be me. I remembered the thoughts at that minute. I glanced down at said wife and smiled.

"_You are going to make a hard choice soon, but your senses will lie to you and you are doomed for misery if you choose wrongly. Oh, Paul. Your fortune sucks."_

"_It's a good job I don't believe in this crap. What now? I'm going to die alone? Get eaten by Ursaring?"_

"_You're so in love and you're conflicted about what to do because you're scared of what might happen."_

I shifted on the mattress and finally closed my eyes. Crazy or not, I had to keep up my strength. Anything could happen at any time so I had to be in the best shape, for Dawn and Dante.

Great, I wasn't through with this at all. I opened my eyes once again. I turned my head to the bedroom door where Dante was stood.

"Daddy," he said quietly, "Bad dream."

I stared at him for a while. He was stood hugging the doorframe like he was scared to be there. His eyes were watering slightly while his bottom lip trembled. I watched my son with a cold indifference for a few seconds before I shook off that feeling. It was odd, I suppose that I would regard my boy in that way but sometimes, and I caught myself always, I thought that he wasn't really there.

Finally I shuffled in the covers to make room for him. He ran over to the bed and snuggled close to his mother. Dawn stirred for a moment, muttering Dante's name before she fell back to sleep. I stared down at the boy once again as he drifted off.

The missing part of the puzzle was my son and I hated myself for admitting that. I closed my eyes again and slipped into an uneasy sleep.

Again there was the green dragon. It was floating in front of me in a coiled sort of stance. It watched me as I stood staring at it. There was nothing but silence. We stared at each other.

"Who are you?" I asked. My voice echoed round as if we were stood in an empty room. I glanced round. We seemed to be floating in the middle of nothing. There were only black around us with a few sparks that were falling from above us. It was like multicoloured sparkling rain. The dragon didn't reply which was both annoying and a relief. Honestly, if a giant green dragon started to talk to me in my dreams then I would be crazy. "What's going on?"

"Arceus is gone," the dragon told me, "And you are the one who can help us."

"Arceus?" I asked, "You mean the lord of all Pokémon? The ultimate Pokémon?"

"Yes," the dragon replied. He hissed when he said 's' like I imagine an Ekans or a Seviper would do.

"Where has he gone?" I asked, digging my hands into my pockets. Sure, now I was conversing with this dragon thing.

"Arceus was taken," the dragon replied, "You need to stop him."

"OK," I said slowly. I looked around me again.

"He is after your mate," the dragon told me, "He has already attacked Raikou and Celebi. Next he will attack Ho-oh then come here for Entei, Lugia and Suicune."

"So 'he', who captured Arceus, is trying to get legendaries?" I asked in clarification.

"You do not understand yet," the dragon replied, "But you will. Your past is important."

"My past?" I asked, frowning. I wanted to ask which one but I thought it was better than the massive green dragon didn't think I was completely insane.

"You have met Suicune before," the dragon said, "When you remember that, everything will become clear."

"I've never met a legendary," I replied curtly, "I can't remember something that has never happened."

"Can't you?" the dragon snapped. His tone had changed so it sounded like my voice. The dragon shrank and transformed into a human form. My eyes widened as I saw myself stood before me. I was younger and wearing a weird uniform with a big red letter R on it. "Remember me."

"You are me," I replied.

There was a loud gun shot. I froze as my doppelganger looked down at his chest. Blood was spurting out of a bullet hole. He looked up at me. His hand slowly went to the wound. It was no good, it was too deep. Blood started to dribble from between his fingers. I stepped back in shock. He looked down at his hand then back at me. He fell to his knees in a pained way then fell onto his face. I stayed on my spot for a second but then I found I was running to his side. I rolled him onto his back and propped him against me. In his hand was a gem stone of some sort on a golden chain. He handed it to me.

"Protect her," he told me, blood beginning to drip from his mouth, "Protect Dawn and Suicune."

"I don't know where Suicune is," I replied.

"Suicune is close to you," he explained quickly before he put the gem in my hand. Instantly there was a bright explosion of light. It engulfed me and him. For the next few minutes I could see various things that I remembered so clearly but had never happened to me. I saw Dawn and the girls in class. Oak, Ketchum and Hayden in weird gear while people shot at us. Raven stood with Ascot, Silver and Celeste. Lastly, Lyra waving a finger at me, telling me off for harassing Carrot-Top. Then appeared the boy with silver hair.

My eyes shot open. I looked around to find my wife and son sleeping beside me. I let out a deep breath and wiped the sweat off my head. I sat up mechanically and decided, seeing as it was five am, it was time for me to get up.

**Spooky dream but what does it mean? Well, the next chapter may reveal more stuff for you. Hehe.**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	7. An Elite Visit

**Erg… My headache is back and I hate it. It's like I have an elephant standing on one side of my brain… T_T**

**Anyway… I bring you this. Thanks to ninetailsgirl94, ReveyLationsFulfillment, LeafxGreenx3, LuckyTigger, xXNaruMayoiXx, Lynx of the Sand, sjir-sama, splitheart1120, Starfire1407, KeiAnimeGirl, Maronn and XJessicaLeighX18 for reviewing! Wow such a long list. Cyber cookies for all!**

**Warning: there is a time skip here so be careful. Not a huge time skip but a time skip none-the-less :)**

**Chapter Seven: An Elite Visit**

Lyra's eyes widened as I walked into the Indigo Plateau. She froze on the spot as she wondered what it was I was doing there. I stared back at her.

"We need to talk," I told her. She looked at her fellow Elite Four members: Koga and Bruno. Will was no where to be seen. She nodded and rushed over to my side, instantly becoming the shy little girl she pretended to be.

"Are you here alone?" she asked. I nodded. "Where's Dawn? Is she OK?"

"She's fine," I replied. We walked down a corridor until there was no one around. I leant on one wall while Lyra stood against the opposite one. She regarded me with a cold look on her face. She knew exactly why I was here.

All this time, her goals to become an Elite Four member were all just a cover up to get herself away from the rest of us. She remembered everything, that I was certain.

"What's up then?" she asked, forcing a cheery note into her voice.

"You know perfectly why I'm here," I replied coldly, "So I want you to tell me everything you know, Ho-oh."

Her eyes widened and shrunk back as she shivered at the tone of my voice. Finally, a smile cracked along her lips, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes sparkled at me.

"Well, well, Paul, I never thought this would happen," she said.

"I couldn't ask Raven," I told her.

"She doesn't know," Lyra replied with a comfortable shrug, "It's just the way it was."

"There are still some bits I don't understand," I said, glancing down the hall, "So that's why I'm here."

"Good," Lyra said. She stood up straight and pointed down the hallway. "Let's talk over a drink."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

Twenty minutes later we were ready to start talking. Lance had spotted us and instantly attempted to make conversation with me. He asked after Dawn and Dante since it had been five months since we saw him in the restaurant. Lyra was surprised by this news but kept it to herself. We managed to get rid of Lance, claiming I had some very important business with Lyra.

Currently, we were sat in a small room with two chairs and a TV in it. Lyra sat in one chair while I took the other.

"So how are the others?" Lyra asked with mild interest.

"Oak, Hayden and Ketchum went to Johto," I replied, "To do some research."

"I bet the girls are bored out of their brains while they're stuck there," Lyra laughed.

"The girls are in Veilstone," I told her. Lyra's smile vanished.

"So it's like that?" she asked. I nodded. "So it's only you who still has their girl?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I gave up on the whole trying to remember gig and research but then everything started to come to me."

"Sounds about right," Lyra commented.

"I keep it to a minimum," I went on, "I spend most of my time being the nice husband and father but increasingly, I've noticed that something is wrong."

"And you've come to me," Lyra stated. I nodded. She sighed loudly before she shuffled forwards in her seat. "So how much do you remember?"

"Most of it now, I think," I replied, "I remember the Academy, the raids, the fight and the legendaries. I remember Mount Moon and I remember the rise of Rocket."

"Very good," Lyra said.

"It's hard to think that you've lived with this for a while," I went on.

"It has been tough," Lyra admitted, "But it seems I'm used to it."

"I bet," I remarked. We shared dark smiles for a few seconds. "What I need is information."

"What on?" Lyra asked.

"What happened after I died?" I asked bluntly. Lyra blinked a few times before she laughed loudly.

"Sure," she said, "I'll tell you everything. It's just weird that my friend is here, asking me what happened after he died."

"You don't get that every day, I admit," I agreed, smirking at her.

"Well, there's nothing really to report," Lyra replied, "You died, we talked, Silver blew up the reactor and boom, I was back in New Bark Town."

"Wow," I stated, "That's it?"

"Yup," Lyra replied, "That's it all. So how have you been remembering?"

"I have dreams," I explained, "Over the last five months I've been having weird dreams that have ended in memories."

I leaned to one side and pulled out a leather book from my jacket pocket. It was small in size but big enough for me to write a lot on one page. I handed it to Lyra. She took it quickly and flicked threw it. She stopped at a few pages and laughed at what was written there.

"A water fight? Seriously?" she asked at one point. I smiled and nodded. "Wow, it's a great recollection of what happened."

"Yeah," I said, "So how did you remember?"

"I was travelling in Johto," Lyra said, "A little while after I met you for the first time. Silver and Raven had had to go to Cianwood to deal with something and Ascot had gone to visit his mom so I decided to go to Ecruteak City. I've always liked it there but I found that I'd not done everything I wanted there. I went and checked out all the tourist attractions. I spent the day in the dance theatre, I ran into Morty and spent a day talking to him, then the burnt tower and the Milktank Farm. Finally I stumbled into the Bell Tower. I climbed to the top and Ho-oh flew down to me."

"So you've actually seen it?" I asked. Lyra nodded.

"She said to me that Arceus was in trouble," Lyra went on, "And that I had to help Rayquarza understand so she gave me back all my memories."

"That was helpful of her," I retorted. Lyra laughed at me.

"And here you are so now I guess my mission is complete," she said.

"Wyre's coming after you," I told her. She nodded.

"I know," she replied, "But I'll be fine. I'm one of the Elite Four and a Legendary's helper. I'm sure I can manage it."

"Don't write Wyre off," I warned her, "He's a pain in both our lives."

"I know, I know," Lyra said. She raised her hands to show me she was surrendering to that thought. I nodded again. She shuffled in her seat as she dropped her hands to her knees. "So what are you doing while you're here?"

"I was going to see the guys," I replied, "But, if I'm honest, I'm not looking forwards to it."

"Poor you," Lyra said with a tone of amusement in her voice. I stood up, looking down on Lyra with a smile on my face.

"You're a very good friend," I told her, "Please take care of yourself."

"I will," Lyra promised.

"And call the girls once in a while," I told her, "They miss their big sister."

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'll try to make time for them in the future."

"Good," I replied, "Now I better be off."

"Good bye, Paul," Lyra said grabbing me into a hug. I paused before I patted her on the back. I didn't know why she hugged me since no one ever did apart from my wife. As she pulled away from me, I cast her a searching look. She smiled up at me and walked past me towards the door. I followed her, slightly put off by the hug.

When we departed some five minutes later, we exchanged smiles and the usual sentiments. I walked away from the Indigo Plateau while Lyra waved at me from the front doors. I smirked as I walked away.

"Bye Paul!" I heard her yell.

I raised my hand as a sign of a wave back. Now I had dealt with her I had other people to meet. I pulled out Honchkrow's ball and released him.

"Let's go," was all I told him.

**Yay! Lyra's in it! I hope people liked seeing her. So yeah, I think this story is coming along nicely. I have finally figured out a plot! Yay! So I shall be writing more of this very, very soon.**

**Please Review!**

**RSx**


	8. A Cry

**I hate Bank Holidays, it totally throws me off. I thought today was Sunday not Monday T_T Anyway, here's the next chapter of The Puppet Master. Please don't kill me *puppy dog eyes***

**Thanks to ninetailsgirl94, LuckyTigger, Lynx of the Sand, splitheart1120, Starfire1407 and sjir-sama for reviewing!**

**Chapter Eight: A Cry**

Walking up the familiar road of Veilstone City towards my house, I expected Dawn to be waiting for me like some cheesy romance movie. In my defence, I had been dragged to quite a few of them in my time dating Dawn. It is one thing you learnt to deal with as a boyfriend. Yet, as I approached the gate of the house there was no one there. There were no Pokémon out in the garden or anything. I looked up at the house to see a few lights were on.

"That's weird," I muttered to myself, picking up the pace as I walked up to the front door. I opened it carelessly, looking round for anything out of the ordinary. "Dawn?"

I heard the sound of heavy foot steps coming towards the door. Within seconds my wife's face had appeared. I offered her a relieved smile but that smile soon faded as I saw her expression. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying non-stop for a few days. Her face was pale. She was wearing baggy clothes. Something didn't add up.

"Oh Paul!" she cried as she rushed forwards to give me a big hug. I was pushed into the wall and Dawn jumped me. I didn't complain. Putting my arms around her waist I held her tightly, wondering what on Earth had happened while I was away. I glanced up as I saw Misty come into view. She looked as bad as Dawn did.

"What's going on?" I asked softly. Misty bit her lip. She turned and left, tears falling down her cheeks. I looked down at Dawn. "Dawn?"

"Paul it's horrible!" Dawn cried into my jacket, "It's terrible!"

"What's horrible?" I asked, stroking Dawn's hair to calm her down. "Dawn you have to tell me what's happened."

"Paul…" Dawn wept, "It's L-lyra… She's… she's… she's…"

My breath disappeared instantly like it had been vacuumed out of my lungs. I felt all the colour drain from my face in a oddly tingly sensation. I gripped Dawn tighter as she cried louder into my jacket. Not Lyra. No way. She couldn't be dead.

"Paul?" Dawn asked as she looked up at me. I looked down at her. My shock worried her. I merely nodded at her and walked into the house where the other four girls were sat on various chairs. Each seemed to be taking the death very differently. May was silently watching the TV while she ate ice cream on the sofa. Misty had her arm round Leaf's shoulders, finding comfort in comforting some one else. Leaf was curled up into a ball, crying in all probability. Raven was sat on the floor, head in her hands with her eyes closed. Misty looked up at me as I walked into the room with Dawn attached to me. May sat up and turned the TV off. Raven raised her head up to look at me. Even Leaf looked up.

"Paul," Leaf said weakly. In an instant, Leaf was by my side hugging me tightly. Raven got to her feet and ran to me, almost knocking me over. Misty and May followed the trend until I was in the centre of a very awkward, and wet, group hug. Many guys would kill for this amount of attention but I found it down right scary being the epicentre of a weeping circle of sadness. It just didn't suit my clearly bubbly attitude. I kissed Dawn's head as all five of them continued to hug me. I would have to break this up sooner or later but I wasn't sure I was strong enough to do so.

Eventually Misty pulled away. She wiped her eyes and walked into the kitchen. May, Dawn and Raven disbanded next with May following Misty into the kitchen. I was left cuddling Leaf as my wife and Raven shared a quick exchange of words.

"How did it happen?" I asked suddenly. Dawn looked at Raven before she disappeared into the kitchen. I heard the abrupt sound of weeping coming from the room as the three girls must have started again.

"She was attacked," Raven told me, "By something. They found her body and the bodies of her Pokémon near the Indigo Plateau not long ago. We were the first to be told."

"Does Silver know?" I asked. Raven let out a sigh before she shook her head. She moved towards the phone but I stopped her. I carefully unlatched Leaf from round my waist and passed her onto Raven. "I'll call him."

"Thanks," Raven muttered before Leaf wailed loudly. I looked sympathetically at Leaf and Raven for a few seconds before I went upstairs to make the call to Silver.

I dialled the red head's number. He appeared on the screen looking quite irritated at being disturbed. His expression soon melted in one of concern as he saw my face.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Silver," I said slowly. He seemed immediately off put by the use of his name. He sat back in his chair. There was a long pause before the words came to me. How do you tell someone the worst news possible? The news that will break their heart and leaving them curled up in a corner for a month? I knew I was dealing with Silver but deep down he was still a person with emotions. He'd take the news badly and I had no idea what effect that would have on him. I took a breath, deciding to be my usual blunt self. "Silver, I have to tell you that… Lyra's been killed."

"No," Silver snapped. I looked at the red head and for the first time since I met the man, I saw a thousand emotions run through him. The short word he had uttered was full of so much emotion it would've made a tough man cry. He ran a hand through his hair as his eyes wondered around the room he was sat in. "No."

"I'm sorry, Silver," I said quietly.

"No," Silver repeated, "She can't be… Paul, she can't be…"

I gave the red head a grim smile before he turned off the screen. I sat back in my chair. I hear the door creak behind me.

"Daddy?"

I turned to see Dante stood watching me. I smiled at the boy as he ran over to me. I picked him up and held him tightly in my arms.

"Daddy, why mummy sad?" Dante asked.

"One of our friends has gone away for a very, very long time," I told him. Dante tilted his head to the side.

"Not coming back?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, no they're not," I replied. Dante looked at me for a few seconds before he nodded.

"Sad," he told me.

"Yes, it is," I said. He hugged me tightly. "But it's going to be OK."

"OK, daddy," Dante said. Within minutes he was asleep. I took him back to his room and tucked him back in his bed with his Suicune doll by his side. I stared down at the boy for a few seconds before I returned downstairs.

I stood in the doorway of the living room seeing May, Misty and Raven with a tall glass of wine. I walked over to Dawn and hugged her once more.

"Silver knows," I told them, "I think he's coming here as soon as he can."

"OK," Raven muttered, "That's probably best."

"Yeah," Misty agreed.

"May," I said to the brunette, "Go and fetch a film to put on. We could all do with something to take our minds off of this."

"Sure," May replied. She took a large gulp of wine before she disappeared upstairs to pick a DVD.

"She called yesterday," Dawn told me, "And apologised for not phoning a lot. The last thing she said to us was 'seeya soon girlies'."

I looked down at Dawn for a few seconds before I hugged her tightly. She wept once more into my chest. I decided not to tell her about seeing Lyra just a week ago at the Plateau. I looked out of the window.

I told her to be careful. I told her to take care and now look what had happened. She was dead. She had been killed by Wyre, I knew she had. If he was powerful enough to take down one of the Elite Four and a Legendary's helper then we were all in big trouble.

"I want Lyra!" Leaf yelled suddenly. Misty hugged the now hysterical girl. Leaf never did take these sorts of things well. Raven looked at me, her eyes burning with anger. We regarded each other for a few seconds and Dawn gently trembled in my arms.

Wyre was going to pay.

**So yeah… Erm… I repeat, please don't kill me *smiles in a scared sort of way* I promise there is an explanation for it. See you on the next update!**

**Please Review!**

**RSx**


	9. A Hospital

**I have three things to apologise for this chapter. Sorry the last chapter was so :( but I decided it had to happen, as much as I do like Lyra. Sorry for not updating yesterday, I lost track of the days until three am when I woke up and thought oh no. And finally, sorry for the delay on the Harmony of White Roses but I am megaly stuck on that at them minute.**

**Thanks to LeafxGreenx3, ninetailsgirl94, LuckyTigger, Lynx of the Sand, Starfire1407, splitheart1120 and sjir-sama. **

**Don't worry, I'm only killing off two characters in this fic but who will the other person be? You'll have to wait and see.**

**Chapter Nine: A** **Hospital **

It was a dull day the day we buried Lyra. Everyone was clad in black and crying. I suppose there were some good points to such an occasion. Leaf was crying on Oak for a change rather than attacking Bandana or Carrot Top. Silver was stood with Raven, Celeste and Hayden. All three looked gaunt, like they were holding it all in. Beside Ketchum stood Ascot who looked a lot better than the last time I saw him. There was a story behind his disappearance and break up with Raven, but now wasn't the time to think about it.

I hadn't told Dawn that I'd seen Lyra a week before she was killed. I had warned her. Still, it didn't bring me any comfort to think about it like that. Dawn was sniffling next to me while I held Dante in my arms. The young boy had no idea what was going on at all. Everyone was so sad. He couldn't figure out why.

I can't remember the service in great detail mostly because I could hardly hear it over the crying of the girls and countless other people. Lyra's parents sat on the front row, her mother crying like there was no tomorrow. Silver remained reserved, passive even throughout the day. It was only when we got home and he kicked at something that we knew he wasn't good at all.

He humbly apologised for breaking the chair he kicked before he winced and cradled his hurting toes. The day after we discovered he had broken them. Cue four hours in accident and emergency.

I sat with Silver mostly. He sat with his head in his hands, staring at his feet.

"I'm so weak," he mumbled.

"You're not weak for feeling sad because someone you cared about is dead," I told him blankly. He shook his head.

"I'm weak because I couldn't help her," he replied softly, "All I ever did was push her away not pull her in. I'm such a weak, pathetic fool."

"We all are," I said, "We all have our moments."

"Yeah but we all don't lose people we care for," Silver said. He ran his hand through his hair, growling slightly. "You would've thought I would know how to kick something without breaking my toes."

"Rage got the better of you," I told him, not being able to hold back a smirk. He glanced at me, shooting me an icy glare as he did so. He looked away from me, simply staring into space.

"Ascot was at the funeral," Silver stated, "I was surprised to see him after all this time."

"I never really asked Raven about it," I admitted, "Although you both are so good at hiding your emotions."

"Arceus knows why they broke up," Silver sighed, "At least Lyra gave me a good reason."

"You're a cold hearted jerk?" I suggested.

"Pretty much," Silver agreed. I smirked again. A small smile worked its way onto Silver face. "You know, she hit me with a frying pan once."

"She did what now?" I asked, taken by surprise.

"She was cooking one night and I said something that made her mad so she hit me with the frying pan," Silver explained, "I had a black eye for a week."

"What did you say to her?" I asked.

"I can't remember, quite frankly," Silver replied, "She hit me so hard I can only remember coming home that night."

"I never saw her as being that rough," I muttered.

"She forgot I had cast iron pans, that's all," Silver replied, "I swear I've still got the bump to prove it. She was deeply sorry. I didn't care."

"Dawn's never tried to kill me," I said, "I feel left out. Carrot Top dearly drowned Ketchum once in Sandgem Town. Leaf electrocuted Oak while they were doing some experiments at the lab."

"And Drew?" Silver asked.

"Bandana set his hair on fire," I replied. Silver looked at me for a few seconds. "Well, her Combusken did."

"Trust Drew," Silver chuckled.

"I suppose Dawn has almost given three heart attacks though," I went on.

"Really?" Silver asked.

"When she told me she was pregnant, when she went into labour," I listed, "I won't tell you the first time though. It's too horrible to think about."

"I love your wife," Silver said, smiling at me, "She keeps you on your toes."

"Yeah, well," I replied. Silver sat back in his chair with a sad expression on his face. I watched him for a few seconds.

"I loved her you know," he muttered, "Even though we weren't together."

"I know," I said. He rubbed his face roughly. I reached forwards and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked at me through his fingers.

"I hate this," he said, "I want her back here."

"I'd be surprised if you didn't," I said. He nodded and sank back into his depressed sort of silence.

I looked up suddenly as I felt someone coming towards me.

"I was told Silver had maimed himself," Ascot said with a touch of humour in his voice. I nodded. Silver told Ascot to 'go away' in a very rude way that if Dawn was here, she would have slapped him round the head. Man am I whipped. Ascot just nodded and sat down in the empty seat on the other side of Silver. "It was a nice service."

"I guess so," Silver mumbled.

"You're going to be OK," Ascot said. I glanced at him mistaking him for asking a question first. It took me a few seconds to realise he had merely stated it.

"I'm not sure about that," Silver replied, rubbing his eyes.

"The doctors will fix up your toes in no time," Ascot pointed out. Silver looked at him and nodded. "And for the other thing… Well, that's going to be hard."

"You're such a mug," Silver said. He would've sounded menacing if it wasn't for the fact he was exhausted. He leant back against his chair.

"Hey, Paul," Ascot said to me, "Your kid is cute."

"Thanks, I guess," I muttered.

"I know it's not the time for this sort of thing but I'd love for him to be the first to read my new book," Ascot told me, "Suicune and the Quest for the Truth."

There was a slight pause as I nodded slowly. I stared at Ascot for a few seconds until I leapt to my feet. I pointed at him.

"You write those books?" I yelled, "With the Legendaries and stuff?"

"Er… yeah," Ascot replied, sweat-dropping, "You've never seen the author's name on it?"

I paused. Actually I'd never bothered to see who wrote them. I never had the chance to either because Dante would force the book open if I hadn't done after ten seconds. Impatient little kid. Silver was now staring at Ascot with a look of bewilderment on his face.

"You write kid's books?" Silver asked.

"Why not?" Ascot replied, "I like to write them. They come to me so easily, especially the Suicune books. Not so much the Rayquarza ones."

"Rayquarza and the Quest for the Emerald," I recalled, "Where the Hoenn legendaries go to search for some gems that have been stolen from them. In the end they find the gems and decide to take them somewhere safe. Latios and Latias let the gems float in the clouds so they could do what they want. Jiriachi, Groudon and Kyogre put their gems together so they'd never be lonely. Rayquarza kept his gem close to himself so that nothing could ever harm it again."

"It's sad that you know that by heart," Silver commented.

"Latios and Latias let their gems go free," I repeated, "Like Lyra and Raven."

"Huh?" Ascot asked. He thought for a few seconds until he nodded. "I guess you're right. I did base those two on Silver and myself. That's why Latios was a bit grouchy in the other stories."

"Then Groudon is a little dense," I said. Ascot nodded. "While Kyogre is vain."

"Ha, just like Ash and Drew," he said, "And Jirachi likes to discover new things just like Gary. Wow, I didn't realise that before. Then Rayquarza is a lonesome sort of creature that is a little domestic and does actually care underneath his scaly exterior."

"That's Paul," Silver told Ascot, "Without the scales."

"Strange," Ascot mumbled, "I never thought of it like that."

"And for the other ones?" I prompted. Ascot looked at me. "Suicune, Raikou, Entei, Celebi, Lugia and Ho-oh."

"Ah that's simple," Ascot said quickly, "Dawn, Misty, May, Leaf, Raven and Lyra."

There was a short pause until Ascot seemed to realise what he'd just said.

"That's strange," he said again, "It suddenly came to me. This doesn't mean I owe you royalties."

"Ascot," I said sharply, "Can you look after Silver?"

"Erm… Sure?" Ascot said uncertainly. Silver looked at me.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"The library," I replied, "I need to look at these books of Ascot's."

"OK," Ascot said, "You know I could send you free, signed copies."

"Not enough time," I told him. I took a few steps down the hall but stopped.

"What does Arceus have to do with it?" I asked Ascot and Silver loudly.

"Arceus? Man I hate that guy. He used to be a good guy but then one day he just changed," Ascot replied, "Now he likes to cause trouble for the other Legendaries. Makes the series a little more dramatic."

"Why did he turn evil?" I questioned, turning back round to look at Ascot. Ascot looked confused for a few seconds until he thought about the question.

"I think he's possessed," Ascot explained, "Like some one made him bad and now forces him to do stuff he doesn't want to do."

"Thanks," I said and I was gone before Ascot could ask me why I wanted to know that information.

Before I knew it I was in the Veilstone Library, looking through all the different books that Ascot had read. I flicked through them mindlessly until one caught my attention.

A Trap for Ho-oh.

I picked it up and read through it. _Ho-oh was flying through the sky one day, happy as could be. She landed on her perch in her old hometown of Ecruteak City to see how people were doing. She made sure that everyone was safe. Ho-oh liked to protect her friends very much. _

Ascot's writing stunk. Never the less I continued through the story as Ho-oh helped save a little girl from drowning in a pond and helping the Geisha build a new dance theatre after their old one was destroyed in a storm. I was running out of attention span when Arceus made his appearance.

_Ho-oh couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the Evil Arceus. He had once been a friend to her and the other legendaries but now he was mean and twisted. Ho-oh didn't fear the Pokémon and stood up to him._

"_Why are you here?" she demanded._

"_I'm going to destroy this town," Arceus replied cruelly. _

"_No, I won't let you," Ho-oh told him, "You'll have to defeat me first."_

_There was a battle after that. Ho-oh and Arceus fought over the townspeople of Ecruteak City until they grew exhausted. Still, Ho-oh wouldn't give up. She stood proudly._

I could almost see the scene. Lyra was stood with her hands on her hips, wearing strange clothes that almost made her look like Ho-oh. She summoned a fire attack at Arceus. I recognised him as well. It was Wyre wearing a white suit with his hair up in a wavy spike. On his back was Arceus' golden ring.

"Give up, Ho-oh," Wyre barked, "You won't win."

"I'll never give up you stupid creep," Lyra replied, "I'm not going to let you hurt my friends!"

"Such a pity," Wyre taunted, "Now face my true power!"

_But Arceus was too strong for Ho-oh. He launched an attack and Ho-oh fell from the sky, defeated. Feeling full of pride, Arceus left the town for now. He'd return in the future to get what was his._

_The people of Ecruteak cried for the fallen Ho-oh but Ho-oh wouldn't stay hurt for very long. Soon she rose up and decided to go and warn Rayquarza of the danger he would face next._

I closed the book.

I let out a few shallow breaths as I tried to calm myself down. So I was next, was I? I put the book back on the shelf and paused.

"I never knew you were such a children's book fan, Paul."

I smirked to myself as I turned round. It looks like I just got the warning in time.

**Cue cliff hanger. Sorry, again :) I promise I will update next time on time. Please review!**

**RSx**


	10. A Book Storm

**So here's the next part of this story. Sorry about the mean cliff hanger last time. **

**Thanks to: splitheart1120, LuckyTigger, ninetailsgirl94, Starfire1407, LeafxGreenx3, sjir-sama, Lynx of the Sand and an anonymous reviewer for reviewing!**

**I don't own Pokémon but I do own Dante.**

**Chapter Ten: A Book Storm**

Wyre was everything I remembered him to be. Silver haired, scowling and no where as handsome as I was. Yes, there was a little bit of vanity on my part but it was the truth. I dug my hands in my pockets and stared at him.

"Long time no see," Wyre said.

"I suppose so," I replied.

"So what are you doing in the children's section?" Wyre asked.

"Ascot's a big shot author," I replied, "I came to scoff at his attempts of 'literature'."

"Sounds like you," Wyre chuckled, "I'm sorry for the loss of your friend, by the way."

"Lyra?" I asked. I forced a shrug. "She wasn't really a friend of mine."

_More like a big sister._

"Still, I'm sorry," Wyre said.

"You killed her, so you should be," I replied bluntly. Wyre's eyes shot onto me. They flashed dangerously for a few seconds until he laughed.

"So blunt," he stated.

"That's me," I agreed, "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Dawn Berlitz," Wyre said.

"Haven't heard about her in years," I replied.

_She's Dawn Shinji now._

"Why do you want to see her?" I asked.

"Revenge," Wyre replied.

"Now who's been blunt," I commented. Wyre laughed again.

"So you don't know where she is?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Dawn Berlitz."

"No, I don't," I said, "She must be out there somewhere."

_There must be another Dawn Berlitz out there in the rest of the world. In all probability she'd be harassing another Paul Shinji._

Wyre nodded and turned to leave. He stopped with his back turned to me.

"You're not going to fight me?" he asked.

"I'm not in the mood," I replied, "I'd rather go back to mocking Ascot's pathetic writing."

_Pathetic? Not really, I enjoyed the books. Man am I domesticated._

"Such a shame," Wyre muttered. He turned round suddenly. A ball of light shot towards me. Somehow my body jumped out of the way. I was instantly in a fighting stance, ready to dodge another attack. Wyre smiled at me. "You're in there."

"Like hell I am," I spat at him. I glanced down at the children's section. There was a large hole in one of the bookshelves now. A few books had fallen from their places. Others were smoking and singed. I turned my attention back to Wyre.

"What do you remember?" Wyre asked, "The Academy? The Legendaries? Your death?"

"What are you talking about," I hissed. Wyre looked surprised.

"You don't know?" he asked. I may as well keep up the charade a little longer, I thought. It may give me an advantage over him if he went into a monologue again like the last time I faced him.

"This is precious," Wyre chuckled, "Paul Shinji doesn't remember."

He shot another ball of light towards me. I dived out of the way. Maybe this plan to make him think I didn't know would actually get me killed. Who knows? At least his aim wasn't very good. He would destroy the whole library and I would be just fine.

"Daddy?"

Oh no. I turned to see Dante stood staring at me with his Suicune doll in his hand. His eyes were wide when he saw the children's section half destroyed by Wyre. Wyre looked at Dante too and for a split section confusion washed over his face.

"Daddy, what you do?" Dante asked.

"That's your son?" Wyre asked, pointing at the toddler. Dante looked up at Wyre in a confused manner. I go to my feet and rushed over to Dante. It was a good job I did. Wyre launched another attack but this time it was at Dante. Dante stared at the ball of light as it sailed towards him, his eyes lighting up as if he'd seen something pretty rather than dangerous. Trust him.

I tackled him to the floor, protecting him from the attack. Unfortunately, the searing pain in my shoulder told me that I hadn't evaded the attack completely. I heard Wyre laugh as I groaned in pain. Slowly I got up, pushing Dante behind me.

"Ooo," Dante said, "Daddy got booboo."

"Yes, Dante," I replied.

So instead of my wife trying to get me killed my son decided to take up the job. I had to admit, Dante was doing great if he did want me dead. If he kept this up then I'm sure I'd be dead in the next two minutes. I felt him tug on my jeans.

"Daddy bleed!" he yelled. I daren't spare him a glance because Wyre was laughing at us.

"Paul Shinji," he said, "A father at nineteen? I would have never guessed."

At times like this I wish I could swear but if I survived this and Dante repeated any bad language I had said, Dawn would kill me. Counter productive if you ask me. Instead I glared at Wyre.

Wyre raised his hand once again. Now things would be tricky. Not only did I have to get myself out of the way but also Dante. Unless… I raised my hand and thought for some attack Rayquarza would use.

"Dragon Pulse," I muttered. A green orb shot out of my hand and collided with the light orb that Wyre sent at me. The two attacks exploded against each other, sending out a roar of noise and a blast of dust. Behind me, Dante coughed.

"So you do remember," Wyre barked, "Well, then I'll just have to get rid of you and your little boy too."

He didn't have time to do anything. A large metal shelf appeared out of no where and whacked Wyre around the head. There was a pause before Wyre crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Now that was awfully Anime, I thought. My arms dropped to my side as Dawn jumped out from behind a wall, holding the metal shelf in her hands. She looked down at Wyre nervously before she dropped the shelf noisily. She hopped on the spot for a few seconds.

"I have no idea why I did that," she yelled.

"Er… Dawn?" I asked. Her eyes locked onto me and the destroyed kids' section. She stared at me for a few seconds.

"I thought you were at the hospital," she said.

"I was," I replied.

"Have you seen Dante?" she asked. Dante popped his head round my legs. Without a minute's warning he rushed over to his mother and hugged her. Dawn picked him up and smiled broadly at him.

"Mummy, man bad," Dante told her.

"I know, that's why I hit him," Dawn replied happily.

"Yay!" Dante cheered. I walked… well staggered over to my family, casting Wyre a dirty look. I stroked Dawn's arm before pushing her out of the area. She looked at me oddly.

"You're hurt," she stated.

"Yeah," I replied looking over my shoulder. I could see the blood stain in my top but the wound was out of my line of sight. Dawn stared at me for a while longer. Finally, and with a vein throbbing in my head, I turned to her.

"What?" I snapped. She had her lips pursed and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Doesn't this seem awfully familiar to you?" she asked.

I couldn't help it. After brief pause, I laughed loudly at her.

"Seriously," she said, "Why do I think this happened more than once?"

"Just let's get out of here," I replied. I looked up to see Officer Jenny walking towards us. Perfect timing.

**So we finally see that Wyre is back! But what will happen next? I'm not really sure because I really need to write some more *sweat drops*. For the record, I don't have anything against libraries.**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	11. A Promise

**I'm glad people found the last chapter funny. I really enjoyed bringing Wyre back even if he is evil.**

**Thanks to Starfire1407, sjir-sama, splitheart1120, LuckyTigger, ninetailsgirl94, Lynx of the Sand, FairoNeko and LeafxGreenx3 for reviewing.**

**Chapter Eleven: A Promise**

I grimaced as I sat down on the sofa. Silver, who had already returned from the hospital, eyed me with a curious smirk on his face. The house was all but deserted apart from Silver, Dante, Dawn and myself. Dawn was currently making a cup of coffee in the kitchen while Dante was drawing on the living room floor. He was humming as he drew in brightly coloured crayons on his large sketch pad.

"So, did you have fun at the library?" Silver asked.

"Tonnes," I replied. Silver barked with laughter. What had they given him at the hospital? I'd never seen Silver laugh before. It was slightly unsettling. He seemed to catch himself suddenly.

"Sorry," he said quickly, "They gave me morphine."

"Right," I said with a smirk. That explained that, I suppose. I rubbed my side irritably for a few seconds as Silver stared round the room. There was a period of silence between us until Dawn entered the room and handed us a drink each. Silver stared at his cup in a weird sort of way like he wasn't sure what to do with it. Dawn paused by his side until she was sure he wouldn't drop it.

"So who was that guy I whacked anyway?" Dawn asked as she walked over to me. She handed me a mug of coffee, black no sugar, and sat down beside me.

"His name is Wyre," I replied.

"Of course it is," Dawn snapped, "I knew that… some how…"

"Anyway," I said, ignoring her outburst. She put her finger to her lips as she became confused over her actions. I patted her hand to reassure her it was OK. "He's just a bad man."

Dawn stared at me for a few seconds like she didn't fully trust what I was saying. I stared back at her, trying not to let anything slip. Dawn's eyes bore into my own until I felt like backing down.

"He's big news to the Champions," Silver said suddenly, "I did hear it from Cynthia not too long ago."

"Oh," Dawn stated, "So that's why you knew him? You used to be a member of the Elite Four."

"That's right," I said, glancing over to Silver. There was a brief period of silent communication between the two of us as I bid my thanks to him for covering for me. He simply took a gulp from his drink, ignoring me completely.

"So what did he want with you?" Dawn asked, pointing at me with the finger which had just been on her lip. I shrugged. I took a drink from my mug, watching Dawn's expression sour as she fumed over my answer. She had never lost her temper at me before so what happened next was a complete surprise to me. Her next sentence even made Silver stare at her.

"You're lying," she said. I looked at her, feigning innocence. It was hard to when her eyes were blazing like they were. Tears came to her eyes but she blinked them away. "How dare you lie to me!"

There was a buzz in the air as her voice echoed through the house. Dante looked up from his drawing looking both confused and upset at his mother's tone of voice. Silver didn't miss a beat. He quickly got up and took Dante outside to play while Dawn and I talked. I was thankful for him doing this. I didn't want to upset Dante one bit. I turned my gaze onto Dawn.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

"The truth, Paul," Dawn snapped, "How about that?"

I remained silent, thus annoying her even more than I thought. She banged her hands on the sofa and let out a huff.

"First Lyra gets killed and then you and Dante get attacked," Dawn said, "What am I supposed to think, Paul? Hmm? I've never known you act so weird before and now you're lying to me? What is going on?"

"I don't understand it all, yet," I replied, "But Wyre wants to hurt you."

"Why? What have I ever done?" Dawn asked. I bit my lip. This was spiralling out of control so quickly, I had no idea how to stop it from slipping through my fingers. Dawn was waiting for an answer and I had to come up with one.

"You know how I said that something happened to us in a past life?" I started cautiously.

"Oh not that again, Paul," Dawn snapped.

"Wyre is from our past life," I continued, "And back then you were the one who stopped him. He was insane then. He's twice that much now."

"And how-how do you know all this?" Dawn asked, stuttering slightly.

"I've been thinking about it a lot recently," I replied, avoiding her eyes, "But I refused to let it get in the way of our life. I have dreams at night. I piece them together in the morning while you and Dante are still sleeping. I've got our whole past life mapped out."

"I thought… I thought you were through with that, Paul," Dawn said. Tears started to well in her eyes once again. I tried to reach for her hand but she pulled away from me. "And all this time… it's like you've been looking for something more."

"Dawn, I just wanted to know," I said, "I don't want anything to do with that life."

"Then why do you chase it so much?" Dawn asked, "It's like Dante and I aren't enough for you."

There was a pause. How… How could she say that to me? But the way she was staring at me told me that she was serious. I opened my mouth a few times but I found that no sound was coming out. Dawn closed her eyes and chuckled darkly to herself. She wiped her eyes and stood up.

"I get it," she said, "I really do, Paul."

"Get what?" I asked, "There's nothing to get. I love you and I love Dante. If I wanted to away from all of this then I would have gone. No I gave up the Elite Four, I gave up travelling and I gave up my time so I could be with you because you mean more to me than anything. Dante too."

"Then why do you keep going after this past life?" Dawn yelled, "Why is it so important!"

"Because," I said, "Because someone from that life is trying to hurt my family, that's why. I can't lose you, Dawn. Never."

"You are!" Dawn shouted.

I was. Those two words hit me like a sledge hammer. There was no way I could ever have a normal life. There was no way I'd be able to keep Dawn safe without driving her away from me. She laughed as I fell silent. More tears were pouring from her eyes. She tried to wipe them away as fast as she could but it was no use.

I wish I could have blamed Lyra's death for this but I knew there was only one person I could blame. It was me. I had done this. I ran a hand through my hair and let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding. I stared at Dawn. She had her hands clamped over her mouth.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "I really am."

"I am too, Paul," she replied.

"So what now?" I asked. She sat back down on the sofa beside me. She looked as lost as I felt. She took a deep breath in and let it back out.

"We continue like we are," she replied. I glanced at her. Her eyes turned onto my face. "Dante would never forgive us if we split up."

Split up. That caused an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I nodded quickly to hide my emotions. I dipped into thought once more. The Dawn I knew would never give up so easily. I turned to her and held out my hand to her. She took it and held it gently.

"We used to go to a school together," I told her, "In this past life."

"Really?" she asked, amusement seeping into her tone.

"And even though you thought I was a horrible jerk, you still decided to become my girlfriend," I went on. Dawn laughed. She launched herself forwards and hugged my waist. She cried into my clothes for a few seconds until she began laughing again.

"You'll never get rid of me," she told me.

"Never," I agreed. I hugged her tightly. "And if I ever did, then I'd never know what to do."

Dawn nodded into my waist.

"Promise me, you won't end up like Lyra," she muttered.

"I promise," I replied.

**So this was a slow chapter but the next one is when it all kicks off! What will happen next? I'm not sure because I haven't written it yet but I know it's going to be exciting and probably leave you complaining at me. Hehe.**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	12. A Jailbreak

**I thought this chapter was longer… Oh well.**

**Thanks to splitheart1120, ninetailsgirl94, Starfire1407, sjir-sama and Lynx of the Sand for reviewing! Sorry about the drama of the last chapter but I needed an angry Ikari moment :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing… but Dante and Wyre.**

**Chapter Twelve: A Jailbreak **

I didn't really like the idea of Wyre being imprisoned so close to the house but I guessed there was nothing I could do about it. With a short sigh, I stepped into the police station. I looked round the spacious and ultra-modern foyer of the police head quarters with a sense of dread crawling through my body. With a silent scolding and a nod to myself, I walked towards Officer Jenny who was stood waiting for me. She looked as nervous as I felt.

"So glad you could come, Paul," she said, her relief filtering into her voice. I nodded blankly. "He asked for you."

"It doesn't surprise me," I replied dully, "I am the one he wanted to kill."

"He gives me the creeps," Officer Jenny muttered into my ear. I flashed her a smirk, showing her I felt the exact same way. She turned on her heel and walked me down towards the cells. The cells were three floors down but it took two elevators to get to them. Veilstone Police Headquarters wasn't the most secure headquarters in Sinnoh but it did a good job, I thought, but in the back of my mind I knew that nothing could ever keep Wyre behind bars forever.

We arrived at the cells. They lined one wall of a corridor. I left Jenny at the elevator and walked down the corridor until I reached cell number five where Wyre was sat waiting for me. He smiled the moment I stepped into his line of sight. His eyes sparkled with something I found unsettling but I ignored it as best as I could.

"You came," he stated.

"Obviously," I replied. He gave a chuckle and leant his head back on the wall. I glanced round his cell. It was white, like the corridor, with a bed along the far wall, a sink and toilet on the left hand side and a cabinet on the other wall.

"You never change, Paul," Wyre told me, "You're still the same stoic person no matter where you are."

"It's who I happen to be," I said, "So are you going to actually tell me something or are you going to bore me with this stupid chatter?"

"Straight to the point," Wyre chuckled. He leant forwards, his eyes gleaming over. I glared at him, narrowing my eyes dangerously at him. A large and hugely unsettling smile appeared on his face, rather like the Cheshire Purrlion from Alice in Pokéland. I felt a little freaked out by the expression but went onto immediate alert. He was planning something. "I came here for two reasons, Paul."

"Enlighten me," I replied.

"I wanted to get revenge on an old friend of ours," Wyre told me, "You know her as well as I do, if not better. I knew that Dawn Berlitz would never be too far away from you and what a surprise I get when one of the police officers tell me you're married to her."

I blink like I'm not interested. Digging my hands into my pockets, mostly because I didn't know what else to do with them at that point, I glared at Wyre.

"It's annoying when people tell me things I already know," I warned him. He laughed but it sounds more like a bark.

"Secondly, I am here for a very special thing," Wyre continued, "When the girls reset time all those years ago, I became trapped in the other dimension where Arceus and the other legendaries lived. They came and went as they pleased, happy in the knowledge that all the darkness was gone. Arceus didn't seem to be convinced though. At the time I was their prisoner. The longer I was left alone with Arceus, the better I came to judging how he would react. Slowly I began to creep closer to him until one day I was able to inject him with something Leo came up with."

"That mad scientist with the Mew Twos," I stated. Wyre nodded.

"The serum I put into Arceus bonded us together and gave me overall control," Wyre went on, "But of course, nothing is as simple as it should be. The other legendaries soon found out about me and tried to keep me in the other dimension. But I was bound to escape sooner or later. Realising this, Suicune decided to take a different route. She's smart that Pokémon. She set out right away to get Dawn to help her but Dawn was too preoccupied with you to take any notice. Growing desperate, Suicune did the only thing she could."

"And that was?" I asked. Wyre let out another bark of laughter.

"Well, Suicune was going to have an egg," Wyre replied, "That was until I caught up with her. I beat her in a battle so she fled from me, right to Dawn."

"Oh no," I groaned, rubbing my head. Wyre tilted his head at me, suddenly confused. He waited for me to look at him once again, remaining quiet. "If you say what I think you're going to say, I will string you up until you are dead. Arceus or not, I will end you."

"This is interesting," Wyre said, "You figured it out?"

"I've always had my suspicions," I replied, "I told myself that I was insecure and not to be stupid though. You said it yourself, I'm stoic no matter where I am or who I'm with, even Dawn. Some times I wonder why she's with me since we are total opposites and don't give me any of that 'opposites attract' stuff."

"This is precious," Wyre laughed, "If only you knew what you had in your hands, Paul. You have the most powerful thing in the universe right on your lap and you didn't realise it! Poor old Paul. You're going to be so sad when I snatch it from you."

"And why did Rayquarza come into this?" I asked.

"Well, the Legendaries fled, you see," Wyre explained, "I beat them all and took their powers. The more powerful ones such as Rayquarza, Lugia and Ho-oh settled themselves in their old hosts. Ho-oh was possibly the biggest threat so I got rid of her, then I came for you. Lugia is having difficulty with her host. Apparently Raven's not so open minded as she once was."

"Good old Raven," I said. I thought about the sea green haired girl for a brief moment. No wonder she had drifted towards Dawn over the last few years. Raven had accepted everything, I realised, but had only pretended to oppose me and the others in order to protect us… In order to protect Dawn and Dante. The more I was around them, the more I could protect them. That's why she told me to give up on the whole finding out my memories, so I wouldn't drive Dawn away like the others were doing to the girls.

"You seem to be thinking," Wyre said suddenly, "The cogs in your head are definitely turning."

"Is that it?" I asked.

"There is one more thing I want to do while I'm here," Wyre told me. I felt a pressure build in the air. It was like something was forcing its way out of somewhere. My eyes snapped onto Wyre to see he was smirking. His lips twisted into a devilish smile. Oh no.

I jumped out of the way shortly before Wyre let all his energy explode. The cell he was sat in a second ago was destroyed instantly. Emergency bells began to ring with loud and shrill tones which made me wince. All this noise meant I couldn't focus on Wyre.

"Paul Shinji," Wyre said. I turned to see he was stood behind me with his hand raised. He fired some sort of attack at me which I dodged easily. Clearly, all those extra years he had on me had not gone to proper training. I, with my old memories and training, was still a much better fighter than him. I was weaker, yes, but I was better.

I used a few Dragon attacks but they came no where close to harming Wyre. He laughed loudly as he kept a shield around him at all times. I had to do something to end this and quickly otherwise Wyre would escape. I couldn't let that happen. He was a mad man, a powerful mad man. That made him dangerous.

I launched another attack on Wyre but taking a different method. I ran at him. I got threw his shield and shot a Dragon Pulse at him. He flew into the opposite wall, causing it to almost collapse upon impact. I landed neatly on the floor, waiting for another attack. I was hoping that that was it and I could go home but it was never that easy. My attack had of course made Wyre very, very mad.

I saw him climbed out of the wall with a very dark aura surrounding him. He raised his hand and I plunged into darkness. The last thing I heard was his laugh ringing in my ears but I didn't feel the floor as I collapsed onto it.

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I don't like Wyre, I've decided. I also get the feeling that people won't like the next chapter either but *shrugs*. **

**Please review!**

**RSX**


	13. A Kidnap

**Yeah… I think I could possibly get lynched after this chapter.**

**Thanks to ninetailsgirl94, splitheart1120, Lynx of the Sand, Starfire1407, sjir-sama and XxrealityxX for reviewing.**

**Just a heads up, you will probably need to read the other story Rocket Academy to understand the next chapters. Just the end ones really. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and plot.**

**Chapter Thirteen: A Kidnap**

I came to a few hours later to find that the police headquarters was a wreck. I was exactly where I was knocked out on the third floor in the basement. I rubbed my head as I sat up. What had happened? Where had Wyre gone?

Then everything hit me at once. I jumped to my feet and ran to the elevator. Common sense caught up with me just as I came to the large metal door. I needed to get home as soon as I could and waiting for a lift would take too long. I looked round to see a hole in the ceiling. It looked like Wyre had gone straight up when he escaped, making a nice tunnel to the outside for me.

I summoned as much courage as I could before I took a run and a jump at the hole. Incredibly enough I lifted right off the grown and soared upwards through the hole right into bright daylight. I hovered over the police headquarters for a few seconds to get my bearings then I soared towards my house. I felt the rush of wind blow through my hair and clothes as I raced towards my family.

I landed in the garden and ran the final leg to the house. I flung the door open and ran into my home.

"Dawn!" I yelled instantly. There was no answer. I stepped carefully into the living room, opening the door with a lot of caution. I glanced around. The room was a wreck. Scorch marks lined the walls. Things had been flung all over the floor. The mirror over the fireplace was at an angle. This wasn't good at all.

I continued through the house until I reached the kitchen.

In all my life, nothing could have prepared me for the scene that lay in front of me. The kitchen was a mess like all the other rooms but unlike the other rooms it didn't have an army of unconscious Pokémon on the floor. None of them had stood a chance against Wyre and his attacks but I didn't care about the Pokémon. As bad as it sounded, I couldn't have cared less. I knew they were there, laying around pitifully but I didn't really take notice.

Past the Pokémon lay Dawn with her back to me. She was on her side as if she had been holding Dante in her arms and shielding him from Wyre.

"Dawn," I said, this time a little weaker than before. I stepped over the Pokémon and made my way to her side. I knelt down beside her, pausing before I put a hand on her shoulder. She didn't move. She felt like ice even through her clothes. I took in a breath and rolled her onto her back.

Her eyes stared lifelessly into space with her pupils wide. Her face was pale. Her mouth was slightly open. It was only now that I saw the blood. It oozed from a wound across her neck.

"No," I muttered, "No."

I pulled her to my body, hugging her so tightly like I would never let her go.

"Dawn," I said, "Dawn, please don't leave me."

There was nothing else I could do but break down at that minute in time. I held her tightly in my arms for the next few hours or so, caressing her hair and face, wiping my tears off of her smooth skin. I kissed her forehead softly a few times, wishing it would bring her back to me but it was helpless. My Dawn was gone from me.

"Paul!" I heard Silver bark, "Dawn!"

"Dawn!" Raven's voice yelled. Time to face it all, I decided. I kissed her for the last time and slowly put Dawn on the floor. I heard Silver's heavy feet enter the room just as I got to my own feet. Raven rushed in behind him, gasping at the scene.

"Paul!" she cried.

"What happened?" Silver asked. He looked at Dawn. "Why haven't you called the ambulance? Is she alright?"

"She's dead," I replied. How in the world did I say that without any emotion in it? How had I said it without bursting into tears like I should have done? Dawn was gone. She was laying over in the corner all lifeless.

Raven didn't miss a beat, thankfully. She ran straight at me and hugged me. I clamped my arms round her and rested my head on her shoulder. The steady shaking of her shoulders told me she was crying. I hugged her tightly, letting a few of my own tears roll down my cheeks.

Silver just stood and watched us, too shocked to move.

"Where is Dante?" he asked suddenly. His voice was hoarse.

"Gone," I replied and I knew it was true, "Wyre took him."

"Oh my Arceus," Raven wailed, "Not Dante too!"

"Raven," I said shakily. I pulled away from her, pushing her away by the shoulders. I held her there for a few minutes before I spoke again. "He took Dante because he is powerful. Where is he?"

"Why are you asking me?" Raven asked, "I don't know where he is. Why should I know where he is?"

"Because you are the only one who can find him, Raven," I replied softly. I tucked a stray hair strand behind her ear while she blubbered some more. "Please, find him for me. He's- he's my son. I need to find him before… Before Wyre kills him too."

Raven stopped crying for a few minutes but the tears still continued to fall. She closed her eyes and began to search for Dante. I waited patiently or as patiently as I could until she opened her eyes again.

"He's at the park," she told me.

I tore away from her and walked through the wrecked house.

"Stop, Paul," she called, "You can't just go after him."

"You can't stop me," I replied. Silver jogged to keep up with me. He pulled on my shoulder. I paused and stared at him.

"Paul, you're angry," he told me in a cold voice, "You can't go running off for revenge."

"He's got my son," I spat, "Doesn't anyone care about that?"

I pulled away from Silver's grasp and made for the front door. I was well aware that Silver and Raven were behind me, following me to see what I was going to do. However my problems didn't stop there. As I turned out of the gate, I almost walked straight into Oak and Hayden. The whole group was stood staring at me with an odd look. Misty and May had their arms linked with Leaf, all of them looking the happiest they had done in a while. Ketchum was talking to Ascot about something but it came to an abrupt stop as everyone stared at me.

"Hey, there you are," Oak said, "Where's Dawn?"

"Gone," I replied. I pushed through them, fully aware that they had surrounded me with the arrival of Raven and Silver.

"Paul," Silver snapped as I pushed past Ash. I paused for a second but his voice didn't deter me.

"What's going on?" May asked, "What's happened? Where's Dawn?"

"Gone!" I repeated, unable to keep the anger out of my voice, "For good."

"She's left him?" I heard Misty ask as I stormed off from the group. I didn't even wait for Raven to explain. By the time Raven had delivered the horrible news, I was on the next street. I felt sorry for everything that crossed my path because I was in such a bad mood. Who could blame me after all? I was in shock, angry and heading to the one person I could take it out on: Wyre.

Before long I was at the park. The evening was just setting in so the place was completely empty. Seeing that that was the case, I found Wyre instantly in the centre of the grass. He was holding Dante to a spot on the grass. I walked over to them.

"So glad you could make it," Wyre taunted. I let go a barrage of swear words and insults before my brain could stop me. I saw Dante pale and put his hands over his ears. Wyre just looked amused. When I finished with my rambling curses, Wrye tilted his head to the side. "Feel better?"

"I'll feel better when I've killed you," I snarled.

"Oh dear," Wyre mocked me, "What ever shall I do?"

"Why did you have to kill her!" I yelled, "You should have killed me, not her!"

"Yes, well," Wyre said, "I had to get rid of her you see. Unlike you, she was a problem that I couldn't risk but it's all worked out for me now."

"Daddy!" Dante wailed, "Where mummy? Daddy! Me want mummy!"

"Don't worry, Dante," I told my son as softly as I could, "It'll be alright."

"You say that Paul, but you know you don't mean it," Wyre said. He turned to Dante with a cruel smile on his face. "Your daddy's lying to you. Your mummy is dead. She won't ever come back."

I swore once again at Wyre, causing him to stop his taunting and laugh at me. Dante began wailing once again, this time louder.

"That's enough," Silver barked. I glanced over my shoulder to see everyone behind me. They all looked ready to kill, even Leaf. Wyre looked round at the people behind me with a pleasant smile on his face.

"I didn't know there would be a reunion tonight," he said, "Minus two members I see."

"You heartless… JERK!" May screamed, "How dare you say that to us!"

"You should be thankful Dante's between us," Oak snarled, "Otherwise I'd be tearing you apart by now."

"I second that motion," Hayden agreed with uncharacteristic darkness in his voice. Wyre merely laughed again. He turned back to Dante.

"Say good bye to your daddy and his friends," he told Dante, "You won't be seeing them again for a very long, long time."

"Daddy!" Dante yelled. He tried to run to me but Wyre held him back. "Daddy, me no go! Me no go!"

"Dante!" I shouted. Wyre clicked his fingers and a strange whirlpool appeared behind him. It was silver swirling round with gold in a hypnotic way. I stepped towards Wyre but he blasted everyone back with an attack. I landed roughly on the grass. My head snapped back towards Wyre and Dante.

"Good bye," Wyre taunted, "This time, for good."

He dragged Dante into the whirlpool and disappeared in a crack of lightening. I stood up quickly, turning to my friends who were in various states of recovery. Each of them stared at me and I took a step towards the whirlpool.

"Paul!" Misty yelled.

"You can't go in there!" Leaf added.

"If we go together, we can crush him," Ash spat.

"No," I said. Everyone stared at me again as I faced the whirlpool. I turned round to look at them. "I'll go. Me and me alone."

"Paul, you can't be serious," Hayden snapped.

"I am," I replied. There was a pause as they exchanged looks. Finally, Raven stepped forwards.

"I don't know what will happen, Paul," she told me, "But what ever does happen you'd better make it right, got that? Or you'll be in very serious trouble."

"I promised Dawn I wouldn't end up like Lyra," I said, "So I'll be fine."

"Hurry up then," Leaf shouted, "Before it disappears!"

"Bye," I said fondly, "Thank you, too."

I turned back to the whirlpool. I sized it up then ran at it. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I ran. Dawn, I wouldn't fail you. I would bring him back and then somehow, I'd make everything right again. Everything would be back to normal.

I collided with the strange whirlpool. It felt cold as it seeped into my skin and dragged me into it. As I was sucked deeper into it I froze.

I would change everything back to normal… but which normal was that?

**Dum dum dum. Yes, this is where it all starts getting tricky. Hopefully not too tricky for you. This is why it is a sequel you see, this is the whole reason why I wrote it. If you get a headache blame it on RaveOn21now22 for suggesting I make a better ending, not me. Hehe, sorry for putting you on the spot RaveOn :) It's him you have to thank really. Rambling over.**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	14. A Different Life

**I'm somewhat bemused at the reaction of the last chapter. Alas, let the headache commence. Like I said, if you haven't read Rocket Academy then you're not going to stand a chance in understanding this part of the story :D**

**Thanks to RaveOn21now22, splitheart1120, xPinkSunshinex, GreenPokeGuy, Starfire1407, Palkia's Princess, Sjir-sama and ninetailsgirl94 for reviewing and not killing me. Sorry for making people cry and shout :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Dante, Wyre and Raven :)**

**Chapter Fourteen: A Different Life**

I landed with a loud thump on the floor of a lab somewhere. Groaning as my senses came back to me slowly, I glanced around. Everything was white and technical looking. There were computers and machines, all buzzing and flashing green and red lights at me. Where on Earth was I?

I jumped a mile when I saw a shoe not too far from me. The shoe wasn't scary but the person who was wearing it was. It was me. I was laid on the floor looking not too good. I was pale, rigid and still. What the hell was going on?

"I can overload the computer. I'll disappear before time resets itself," I heard Silver's voice say from over by a large machine. I scrambled to my feet as I saw Lyra, Carrot Top, Bandana, Leaf, Raven and Dawn stood with their backs to me. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Dawn stood there, alive and well.

"I know," Lyra replied. She sounded like she was going to break down any second, not that I could blame her. I guess that in our world we had to sit and watch the girls die while they had to do the same in this one. "But I won't remember."

Silver nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder, pausing as if he was going to do something else. I remembered Silver from my time. He loved Lyra so much but I guessed he was much more of a jerk here than at home. I smirked.

"I wish I could have been more for you," he stated. Lyra giggled, tears springing from her eyes. She quickly moved her hand so she could wipe them away. The other girls looked at the couple with pained expressions on their faces.

"Thanks. That means a lot," she muttered. She walked back to the girls and they all embraced each other tightly while Silver raised his hand towards the machine. So he was going to make it explode was he? This must be the day when they reset time. That meant I had to stop them… but how?

"Good luck everyone," Silver said. Even if I had said something, it would've been too late. He shot an attack at the machine. It made a weird noise, like it was building up to some sort of explosion. Silver faded out of existence like he just dissolved into the air.

"Thanks guys," Dawn yelled, "It's been great."

"I love you guys!" Leaf screamed.

"We'll always be together," Misty wept.

"Friends forever," May agreed.

"Good bye," Lyra muttered.

"So long, have a good life," Raven said.

With only a few seconds left I raised my hand. What could I do? I had no idea but I thought about a shield to encase the explosion in so it wouldn't destroy anything. I closed my eyes so all my focus was on that one thought. I had to protect this world and stop my world from being created so that I could stop Wyre.

There was a flash of white light and the sound of an explosion but when I opened my eyes the girls were still stood in front of me, hugging each other.

"Wait," Raven said suddenly, "We're not dead?"

Their weeping stopped straight away. Slowly they let go of each other.

"Maybe Arceus did something," Bandana suggested.

"Maybe it didn't work," Carrot Top said, "The explosion wasn't big enough."

"Silver gave it enough power," Lyra muttered glumly.

"AH!" Leaf screamed. I jumped back slightly as she did this. Her eyes were wide as she stared straight through me. The other girls whipped round, taking up defensive stances just in case they were attacked.

"P-Paul?" Dawn asked. It sounded so nice to hear her voice again. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide in shock and her mouth was slightly open.

"But you're dead," Lyra stated, looking from me to the other me on the floor. I glanced at the dead me on the floor. This was going to take some explaining. Unfortunately I hadn't thought that far ahead.

"I don't have much time," I started, "I had to stop you resetting time."

"Who are you?" Carrot Top barked.

"Paul Shinji, aged nineteen," I replied, "Ex member of the Sinnoh Elite Four and current Gym Leader of Veilstone City."

"Ooo-Kay," Bandana said, "How is that possible?"

"Raven," I said before anyone could reply. Raven stiffened as I said her name but she walked forwards. She stared at me for a few moments as if she was reading my character. Suddenly she nodded.

"He's Paul," she told the others, "But not our Paul. He's the Paul from another reality which we created by resetting time."

"Is that possible?" Lyra asked.

"Obviously," Raven replied. OK, I can't remember Raven talking to Lyra like that before. It made me smirk despite the position I was in. My eyes travelled to Dawn who seemed to be in the same state of shock she was in a few minutes ago. She had gone pale, like she had seen a ghost. Suddenly, with her head down, she ran towards me. She almost knocked me off my feet as she ran into my arms, hugging me tightly. My arms snapped around her as I held her just the same. I never wanted to let her go, that was for certain.

"You're alive?" she choked.

"Yeah," I replied, "And you are too. You worried me."

"You worried me too," she said. She pulled away from me, rubbing her eyes clean of tears.

"But if he's from a different reality, then he's not the real Paul," Lyra snapped. I laughed at her, finding her incredibly funny for some reason. The others stared at me like I was possessed or something.

"I imagined you'd say something like that to me, Lyra," I said, "I'm glad you're OK too."

"Of course I am," Lyra snapped, "I am more than capable of looking after myself, I'll have you know."

"I know," I replied, "No need to get your panties in a twist."

She stuck her tongue out at me in a childish manner, making Leaf and Raven laugh slightly. Carrot Top and Bandana weren't so impressed. They looked rather sceptical about my appearance, not that I couldn't blame them.

"It's true, I'm not exactly like your Paul," I explained, "But I am him. I remember everything he remembers from this time."

"Really?" Carrot Top asked.

"First year of Rocket Academy," I stated, "The first thing Ketchum ever said to you was 'this cookie is awesome, you want a bite'. You told him to shove off because he sprayed you with crumbs."

"But… How did you know?" Carrot Top asked, her mouth slightly open, "The classroom was empty when that happened."

"No, it wasn't," I replied, "You didn't notice me as I entered the room. And Leaf, I still think that Jigglypuffs are under rated."

Leaf gulped loudly before she blushed red.

"Bandana, your fringe is just like upside down devil horns," I continued, ignoring Bandana's yells of 'screw you', "And Raven, you really think I'm going to dignify that with a response?"

"That's Paul," Raven stated. I turned back to Dawn. She smiled at me like she was expecting to say something to her. Instead I took her hand and held it softly in my own. She seemed to get the message and giggled.

"What are you doing here?" Bandana asked, placing a hand on her hip. Her expression had lightened slightly now so at least she wasn't going to kill me in the next few minutes.

"Wyre kidnapped my… my son, Dante," I said, stumbling over the word son as I thought about it. Was he really my son? If he was the son of Suicune then he wouldn't really be mine, would he?

"You have a son?" Leaf blurted.

"Yeah… I think so," I replied, "I'm not so sure about it now though. In my time, Dawn and I had a son named Dante. He's three years old."

"DAWN!" Carrot Top and Bandana yelled at a furiously red Dawn. She looked around as if she was going to burst into tears any second.

"Oh shut it," I snapped, "We were engaged anyway. This is getting off topic. I need to find Dante so that Wyre doesn't use him to take over the world… or something to that affect."

"Dante's the son of Suicune," Raven said pleasantly, "So technically you were a surrogate parent to him."

"Is that so?" I asked. Raven nodded.

"He's so sweet," she added with a wide smile. I frowned at her.

"Get out of my head, Raven, or I'll give you a mental picture that you'll never get out of your head," I warned. She gave me a look as if to say try. I thought about the most disgusting thing I had ever seen which just so happened to be an incident involving Oak and Ketchum. Raven blushed and gave a little squeak. "I warned you."

"Ew…" Raven trailed off.

"Stop messing around," Lyra snapped, "We need to find Wyre."

"Maybe this has something to do with the darkness," Carrot Top mumbled.

"Yeah," Bandana agreed, "I never liked him. He was sort of freaky."

"Where can we find him?" Dawn asked, "The last I saw of him was in Arceus' lair but if we're dealing with timelines, then who knows where he is."

"Leaf," Lyra snapped. Leaf straightened in attention. "Can you take us back to our present?"

"I can try," she said nervously, "But I'm not sure."

"Just relax, OK," Lyra told her softly, "You can do it. We know how strong you are."

"OK," Leaf said, "I'll do it. Everyone make a circle and hold hands."

Everyone rushed into a small circle, grabbing each others hands. I glanced to my side to see Dawn was tightly gripping my left hand while Raven was on the other side of me.

"I want us to go back to our time," Leaf muttered to herself, "We need to find Arceus."

"Maybe if we help," I said. Dawn nodded. We closed our eyes and began to think about the time we wanted to go back to. I needed to find my son. I had to find him no matter what. Wyre had him. He was with Wyre.

There was a gentle tugging feeling on my body but I didn't feel alarmed by it. I felt Dawn's grip tighten around my hand. There had to be a way out of this mess. I just hoped we'd all be left standing at the end of it.

The gentle tugging soon stopped. The next thing I felt was a strong rushing sensation followed by a falling sensation. My grip loosened on Raven and Dawn as we collided with a hard and solid floor. Instantly my eyes were open and I was looking around. I was lying on my back between Raven and Dawn in a grassy area close to a lake.

"Ow," Bandana moaned as she looked around, "We're back here?"

"I guess this is where it all comes down," Lyra said as she got to her feet. She looked down at her clothes and gave a long sigh. "We need new outfits."

"You're telling me," Raven agreed, "First stop the showers!"

"Yeah!" the others yelled. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

Great, I was leading an army of sixteen year old girls… We were doomed…

**I hope this isn't too complicated :S At least I've brought everyone who was dead back to life… Even if the boys have disappeared. Hehe. Minor details. They won't stay disappeared too long, so don't worry.**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	15. A Road Trip

Some of you were a little confused as to what was going on so I thought I'd recap.

In Rocket Academy, the girls blew up the reactor in the past which wiped Rocket out and created a new timeline where Dawn and Paul got married and had Dante. With me so far? Wyre was being held captive by Arceus in Arceus's realm so he wasn't affected by the new timeline thingy so when he escaped he was able to go into the new timeline. When Paul went into the past he stopped the explosion which means that the new timeline ceased to exist and the Rocket Academy story continues!

… Did anyone get that?

Erm… well… Anyway, here's the next part of the story…

**I don't own anything but Dante and Raven.**

**Chapter****Fifteen:****A****Road****Trip**

I sighed as I leant my head against the wall of the girl's locker room. How on earth had I been talked into this? I was standing guard while six girls took showers, one of which was an alternative version of my wife. I messed with the hat on my head. I was never a big fan of hats but this was just stupid. It had no purpose but to annoy me.

"Paul," Dawn said suddenly. I turned to see she was stood wearing a strange outfit that I'd only really seen in my dreams. It was the raid outfit and it looked great on her. However, for some reason, Raven had changed it slightly so that instead of having a large 'R' on it, it now had a large purple 'S' on it. Likewise, mine now had a green 'R' on it. Dawn titled her head in confusion as I checked her out. I didn't mean to but I was just so interested in how she looked and the clothes she was wearing… Yeah, I felt like a perv too. "You alright?"

"Fine," I replied, "It's just a bit weird here, that's all."

"So… you and I are married?" she asked. I smirked and nodded. "That's cool."

"We were married," I replied, "However, shortly before leaving my world, you were murdered."

Dawn gave a squeak showing that she was both shocked and scared at the news. I merely shrugged it off. I still had no idea how I felt about loosing my Dawn. Those emotions were still twisting and churning in my stomach. I guessed that it was only Dante that was keeping me from breaking down. I stood up straight and turned to face Dawn.

"We're in the same boat," I told her, "You just lost me and I lost you."

"Yeah," she agreed, "It's weird, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," I said, "But for the minute we should concentrate on defeating Wyre so that we can handle this later."

"Sounds good," Dawn agreed with a smile. Foot steps alerted us to Raven coming to check up on us. She had her hair tied up with a large white 'L' on her front. She smiled at us in an innocent sort of way which only made me suspicious.

"I was right," she stated, "I was so right."

"What about?" I asked.

"Dawn being married and having a kid," Raven explained.

"It wasn't completely right," Dawn replied, "Is it?"

"That world really did happen," Raven told us, "Everything there happened for a reason."

"Why?" Lyra asked as she came into a view with the others not too far behind her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Leaf said, "It's because we couldn't succeed here. Arceus must have let us create that world so that Paul could come back and help us. Paul is the top student in the school. He's our anchor."

"Boy, are we in trouble," Bandana remarked.

"So this time we can stop Rocket," Leaf concluded.

"Sounds good to me," Lyra said. She turned her gaze on to me. "But I still don't trust you."

"I'd be insulted if you weren't," I replied with a smirk. Lyra couldn't help but smile at this.

"Where too now?" Carrot Top asked, "We can't exactly just walk up to Arceus and say hey, how you doing? By the way, you may be turning evil very soon."

"We need the guys," I replied sharply.

"And where do we get them from?" Carrot Top asked.

"That's easy," Raven replied, "We go up to Giratina and say 'you owe us one' and boom, we have guys."

"Easier said than done," Carrot Top sighed.

"First we should try and get out of here," Dawn told everyone, "We'll need two cars to Goldenrod. From Goldenrod we catch the train to Saffron and from Saffron to Vermillion City."

"Then we get a boat to Sinnoh," Lyra concluded, "I like the idea, Dawny."

"Let's get going then," Leaf cheered.

Maybe stealing a car wasn't such a great idea, I thought as Dawn, Raven, Carrot Top and I looked over at the garage where all the vehicles were stored. Currently there were guards walking round with tazers in their hands. This was very bad.

"Any more bright ideas, Dawn?" I asked. The reply I got was a sharp elbow jab in the ribs.

"We need a distraction," Dawn said, "Raven, make them think they saw someone."

"Alright," Raven said with a nod. She closed her eyes, obviously thinking about something to distract the guards. I watched as a commotion brewed and the guards ran off. The coast was now clear.

"See," Dawn told me, "I am very good at ideas."

"I never said you weren't," I replied, "Let's go."

We rushed into the garage, opening the doors so that we could drive out in a few minutes. I leant against a wall as Carrot Top and Raven went to break into a car. I kept a look out for any sign of movement just in case Raven's mind trick wore off and the guards came back. Thankfully no one came to bug us. Dawn was on the other side of the garage doing the same as I was. I glanced over at her.

Damn it, stop it, I cursed myself. I felt like whacking myself on the head but Raven caught my attention.

"Let's go," I heard her say in my head. I paused, thinking how weird it was to hear he voice again, but jogged over to the car. Carrot Top was about to climb into the driver's seat until Dawn pulled her back. Raven quickly took the car keys off of her and threw them at me.

"What?" Carrot Top asked. Dawn and Raven gave each other worried looks as they thought how they could answer this question. I chuckled as I climbed into the car.

"We want to get to Goldenrod in one piece," I told the carrot haired girl. She fumed instantly but I didn't listen. I slammed the door before she could yell at me and put the keys in the ignition.

Dawn got in the passengers side while Carrot Top and Raven got into the back seats. I waited for them to buckle up. Secret mission or not, safety was more important. I paused as I turned the lights on.

"Something wrong?" Dawn asked.

"Nothing," I replied, "I'm just cursing how domesticated I am."

"Paul is domesticated," Raven sang, "Paul is domesticated."

I glanced at Dawn with an annoyed expression on my face as Raven and Carrot Top began to sing together. Dawn giggled as she read what I was thinking. I slipped the gear into first and went heavy on the gas. We zoomed out of the garage making Raven and Carrot Top scream as I turned the very sharp corner onto the drive. I almost ran someone over as I drove out of the school grounds.

"Paul!" Dawn squealed, putting her hands over her eyes. I smirked and swerved to avoid the guard. The least I could do was scare the hell out of him. Sure enough, I watched him in my rear view mirror as he ran back to base.

"That's it, I'll drive," Carrot Top snapped.

"Do you really want me to brake?" I asked. There was a pause.

"Fine," Carrot Top replied, "But you're not allowed to drive again."

"Noted," I said, "But I am the best driver."

"Really?" Raven squeaked, "I should have never given you the keys."

I relaxed slightly as we got out of range of the school but this didn't stop the girls from complaining about my driving. I switched off to their complaining after a few minutes and concentrated on what I was doing.

"What was he like?"

I glanced at Dawn. She was playing with her fingers in a nervous sort of way. I was confused for a few seconds until Raven's head appeared in the gap between the seats.

"What was who like?" she asked smiling at Dawn.

"Paul's son," Dawn stated, "Sorry, I'm just curious."

"Dante," I said, "He is cute and slightly peculiar but you were his mother so it didn't really surprise me."

Dawn glared at me, with her cheeks puffed out. I chuckled at her reaction but then I grew a little more serious.

"For years I thought there was something odd about him," I admitted, "But I put it down to my insecurities. At first I thought that Reggie was his real father-"

"Hey!" Dawn yelled. She punched my arm hard. "Who do you think I am!"

"Well…" I said, "We were drunk for two days and there were photos of you and Reggie hanging off of each other. Then again, it was the same party where Reggie got his hand stuck in a vase. Neither of us could remember those two days like everyone else, I suppose."

"Right," Dawn mumbled, suddenly growing red.

"Dawn got drunk?" Carrot Top laughed.

"Oh be quiet," Dawn snapped.

"Then all this with Suicune came to light," I went on, "So I was right in a way. I should have seen it coming, he used to adore Suicune things. His favourite books were about the Legendaries but mainly Suicune. On another note, Raven?"

"Yeah?" Raven asked.

"Never let Ascot take up writing children's books," I told her, "He sucks at it."

"No problemo," Raven said with a mock salute.

"How long until we get to Goldenrod?" Carrot Top asked.

"About two hours," Raven replied, "I think we should get some rest."

"You lot go ahead," I told them, "I'll rest on the train. Raven, can you see where the others are?"

"Alright," Raven said. She fell silent for a few seconds and closed her eyes. I continued to drive along the pretty deserted road. Where was everyone? I suppose Rocket would have this area clear just in case they needed to go to the school. Dawn turned round in her seat to look at Raven.

"Raven?" Dawn asked softly.

"Sorry," she replied quickly, "Lyra says they're fine. They're currently about two and half hours away. They took a different route and May is driving."

"Arceus help them," Carrot Top mumbled.

"At least they're safe," Dawn said brightly.

"Tell them we'll meet in the city," I told Raven. Raven relayed the message. Once she'd done that she curled up and went to sleep. Carrot Top was already breathing heavily behind me. I glanced at Dawn to find she was staring out of the window.

"Get some rest," I said.

"I don't think I can sleep," she replied quietly, "Everything's too fresh in my mind."

"I know the feeling," I said with a smirk, "But don't fight it."

"I won't," Dawn said. She fell silent for a short amount of time but her eyes never left me. I focused on my driving rather than on her. This was going to drive me insane sooner or later, I thought. She was my Dawn but she wasn't. She was a different Dawn. I had to keep telling myself that all the way to Goldenrod. Even when she fell asleep I didn't dare spare her a glance because I couldn't trust myself if I did. When she did finally drop off to sleep, I felt relieved. Arceus, what had you done to me?

**Will****they****get****to****Sinnoh****in****one****piece?****Will****May****'****s****driving****get****the****others****to****join****these****guys****in****Goldenrod****in****time?****Who****knows.****I****know****I****don****'****t!**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	16. An Interlude

**So, who was surprised to see this story pop up on their alert/feed? I was and I posted it XD It's been so long but I have finally managed to get back onto this fic!**

**Big, big, big thank you to lightwolfheart, sjir-sama, LuckyTigger, splitheart1120, Starfire1407, ninetailsgirl94, mednin, Hylian Dancer, Dani4Short, PianoGirl24, tyra and SOS for reviewing. **

**I can't believe how much prompting I've had from you guys trying to get me to update this ^_^ Sorry but as it turned out, third year of Uni and three long running fanfics does not go well at all. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs and plot.**

**Chapter Sixteen: An Interlude**

Raven shook me awake a few hours later as the train pulled into Saffron City. I opened my eyes at her, tiredness fogging up my sight. I was well aware that someone was sleeping on my shoulder to my right.

"We're almost there," Raven told me.

"Right," I said, rubbing my eye. I quickly stood up making Bandana, who had been leaning on me, fall noisily onto the plastic seat of the train.

"Ow," she moaned as she pushed herself up. She shot Raven and I a glare. "Same old Paul."

"What else would you expect?" I said, "Lets get moving."

"How long will it take for us to get to Vermillion?" Bandana asked, yawning at the end of her sentence.

"We're walking, so two days," Raven told her. Bandana pulled a face at the prospect of walking but I didn't mind it. Walking would be good for us to think about what we were supposed to do. I stretched my arms, having being curled up for such a long time my back was hurting. Bandana did the same sort of thing whilst sitting down on her seat. She yawned again.

"I hate walking," she told Raven and me. Raven smirked at her just as Carrot Top and Lyra walked up to us looking highly worried.

"Have you seen Leaf or Dawn?" Lyra asked.

"We've been trying to find them but they don't seem to be on the train," Carrot Top added.

"They're probably getting breakfast for us," Raven said. I closed my eyes and stretched again. As I stretched I felt a tingle in my body. It was a weird tingle as in it didn't start in my muscles, it started in my brain. Instantly I knew where Dawn and Leaf were. I stopped stretching and open my eyes quickly.

"Leaf's upset," I stated, "Dawn's sat with her in the toilets."

"Right," Lyra said slowly, "Erm… I'll go and get them."

"Question?" Bandana said putting her hand in the air, "How did you know that?"

"I have no idea," I replied honestly, "I just closed my eyes and I saw her."

"Weirdo," Bandana sang before she turned to Raven and Carrot Top. Lyra hurried out of the compartment, looking thoroughly weirded out and worried at the same time. I couldn't believe she was still alive. I let out a sigh as I flopped back into my seat. My life had become too complex for my brain to handle. My mind was trying to tell me that both Dawn and Lyra were dead and yet I was talking to them. Dawn… Was she the same as the one I had left behind? In essence she was but she was also different. She wasn't a mother. She wasn't a designer. She wasn't the girl I grew up with. She was a fighter. She was Suicune. She was sixteen.

I rubbed my head in annoyance as these thoughts clouded my head.

"They're not the same," I muttered.

"Who aren't?" Raven asked instantly.

"Dawn," I replied, looking up into Raven's calm eyes. She smiled at me warmly, patting me on the shoulder as if it would provide me with comfort. It didn't.

"It's alright," she said happily, "You'll fall in love with her again."

The image of Dawn laid out on the floor of the kitchen flashed through my head suddenly, making Raven withdraw her hand from my shoulder quickly. She recoiled from me, leaving me staring up at her.

"She died?" she asked, her voice rising a fraction, "When?"

"About ten minutes before I left that world behind," I replied, "She was my wife. I love her but having her here is messing with my head. She's exactly the same but different."

"That makes no sense," Bandana commented.

"What made you fall in love with her to begin off with?" Carrot Top asked. I thought about this for a minute or two, well aware that half way through thinking Dawn had returned with Lyra and Leaf.

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "Back then, I just knew I did and I didn't question it. I was a kid. I just knew I wanted to be with her."

"Who's he talking about?" Leaf whispered to Carrot Top rather loudly.

"The Queen of England," Carrot Top snapped back, rolling her eyes, "Who do you think?"

"Well," I said as I got back to my feet, "We should really get ready to go to Vermillion."

"Paul?" Raven asked before I could hurry towards the bathroom, "Could it be possible… Could it be possible that… never mind."

"_Is it possible that the only reason I love my Dawn was because of this one?_" I asked her in my head. Raven avoided my gaze and I knew I was correct. "_Possibly. I never thought of it before now but… Why would I have gone for my Dawn? Why would I have fallen in love with her when she was so different?_"

"_I don't know_," Raven replied, "_But when did you know you loved her_?"

I turned and left the compartment without another word. I walked towards the toilets where I quickly gave myself a wash. I looked in the mirror hanging over the sink, almost shocked at my appearance. I looked like me. For some reason it surprised me. I let out a sigh as I dried my face.

"I first fell in love with Dawn when I was at school," I said to myself without really thinking about it, "She was beautiful and kind and I knew that I had to get into her life somehow. So I bullied her a little in order to get close to her. Damn it. Now my head really hurts."

There was a knock on the door.

"Paul?" I heard Dawn's voice asked, "Can I talk to you?"

I opened the door and walked out of the bathroom, eying her carefully. She looked sad almost with her eyes cast down.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I just want you to know," she said, her cheeks turning red, "That I'm sorry to hear about your wife and that I understand how much it hurts to lose someone close to you."

"Hey," I cut her off before she could say anymore. I put a hand on her shoulder then pulled her into a hug. She instantly hugged me round the waist, burying her head into my chest as I wrapped my arms round her. How familiar this seemed and so right too. I let out a short breath of air. "I'm Paul. Your Paul."

"My Paul's dead," she replied, whimpering slightly. I felt the dampness of her tears soak through my t-shirt. I tugged her closer into my body, refraining to kiss her hair like I would have usually done.

"No, he's not," I told her, "I've come back to you and even though I may have gotten a little bit delayed and confused, I'm back."

I pulled away far enough from her so I could capture her lips with mine. For a few seconds we stood kissing like the past twenty four hours had never happened. When I pulled back from her I let out a sigh.

"Fine," I said, "Perhaps I'm a little softer than I used to be but don't get used to it."

"Alright," she laughed, wiping her eyes with her hand. I pulled her back into a hug, kissing her hair without fear this time. I stroked her back with my thumb.

"I missed you," I told her, "I really did."

"Hey you two! Stop smooching and lets get going!"

Bandana's harpy cries really put a dampener on the mood and I grudgingly pulled away from Dawn. She wiped her eyes again then turned to face her friends.

"Right," she said, "We should get going. The sooner we get the boys back, the sooner we can get back at Wyre."

"And save ickle Dante," Raven cooed.

Before anyone could retaliate to Raven's obvious stupidity, the train jumped to a halt and the automatic doors opened. We each adopted a casual pace as we stepped out of the train onto the busy platform of Saffron City. I put my arm round Dawn's waist, pretending to be a normal couple. She grabbed onto me out of instinct.

As the girls branched off into natural looking friendship groups and pretended to act like regular school girls, not that that was hard, Dawn and I slunk back. As soon as we were out of the city limits we could drop this shameful charade of normality and get back to our job. Until then we couldn't risk being caught.

As we climbed the stairs out of the subway, I looked around. The sun was dull, hanging limply over the city skyline. Everything seemed to be grey which was odd since I'd always pictured Saffron to be on the same par as Goldenrod. The Silph Co. tower loomed in the centre of the city. I felt as though I was being watched from every direction. Getting to Vermilion would be hard without getting recognised or caught but somehow I knew we'd do it. We had to. I had to at the very least.

"Hey you."

Dawn and I instantly turned around to see who was talking to us. A Rocket Grunt slunk towards us, his jaw set and a scowl on his face. To our surprise he brushed past us to go and interrogate some business man with a large suitcase. Dawn let out a sigh.

"We're in Rocket country now," I told her seriously, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Luckily they trained us how to deal with these sorts of circumstances," Dawn replied, smiling up at me, "So let's get moving. The sooner we get to Vermilion the better."

"I couldn't agree more," I told her.

As I laid down on the damp grass a few nights later, already half way to Vermilion, I stared up at the clear night sky. In the distance Lyra and Bandana were arguing over who would be better at making a fire for us while Raven andCarrot Topmade a good sized pile of wood. I decided to stay out of it. I had learnt years ago never to get involved in girl politics. I could lose an eye or something if it got really catty.

I felt Dawn lay down next me but she didn't say anything. For a while we laid there staring up without a care in the world. Then something annoyed me: Dawn shivered. I sat up and stared at the still unlit bundle of fire wood and the girls around the wood were now in a full blown argument.

I raised my hand, muttering 'dragon breath' and causing the wood to catch fire. The arguing girls jumped back in shock as they felt the warmth radiate from the flames.

"There," I said, "Problem solved."

"Fair enough," Carrot Top muttered.

"We should save all our fighting energy for later," Lyra told everyone, "I think we'll need it."

"Fine," Bandana snapped, "I'm going to go to sleep now."

"Good night everyone," Leaf chirruped as she settled herself in a spot and curled into a comfortable sleeping position. The rest of the girls followed suit. I rolled back onto my and let out a sigh. Who knew travelling with girls would be so difficult? How did Ketchum put up with it? I mean really?

My thoughts were cut off suddenly as Dawn moved so her head was resting on my chest. I shuffled to get my arm free so I could wrap it round her.

"Love you," she muttered.

"Love you too," I replied. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off into a peaceful sleep. After a few nights of sleeping rough, I was glad for the change. Arceus knew that in a few days the fun would really begin.

**Erg, soppy Paul at the end there. Sorry. I hope I'll update this soon but even though I just finished the chapter I wanted to get it posted, you know to let you all know I do keep my promises ^_^**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


	17. A Swim

**Still having a stressful week, but here's an update. **

**Thanks to my reviewers: splitheart1120, Sjir-sama, Starfire1407 and GreenPokeGuy.**

**Chapter Seventeen: A Swim**

"WAKE UP!"

I grimaced as I heard Dawn yell at May and Leaf, who refused to stir from their afternoon nap. I glanced at the door of the cabin wondering how many other people had heard my… whatever, yell at her friends. This was still taking some getting used to. I let out a sigh and returned to reading through a notebook I had picked up. So far I'd just finished writing about Dawn and mine's wedding. I sketched a drawing of her dress, doodling details that I was almost ashamed to admit I noticed.

I heard the door of the cabin open and Dawn stepped back into the room, anger radiating off her as she stomped over to her bed and threw herself down on it. I didn't spare her a glance, too engrossed in my doodle to dare look up at her and lose the memory. There was a comfortable silence between us, just like when we would go up to the lake and hang out. I paused at this thought. At least I was comparing things to the memories I had at Rocket Academy rather than the other world which didn't exist anymore.

All my friends and everything I knew had disappeared. It felt weird as I let that information sink in finally. They were gone as I knew them. Oak was no longer a researcher, Ketchum was not a trainer and Hayden… I had no idea what he did anyway. At least I didn't have to put up with Ascot's ridiculous books any longer. Then again they had been burned into my brain because I had read them so often. Everything else was gone. Our house. My gym. Dawn's shop. They had never existed at all.

"Is something wrong?" I heard Dawn ask me, "You've gone awfully rigid."

"Nothing," I lied. I put the notebook I was doodling in on the side. I stood up and walked away from the desk so I could join Dawn on the bed. She snuggled into me the moment I was settled next to her.

"Were you thinking about your home?" she asked, "You looked sad."

"Yeah," I admitted, "I was thinking about my life. It's weird to think that everything's gone now."

"We're still here," she told me gently, stroking my chest with her fingers.

"Celeste isn't," I muttered.

"You knew Celeste?" Dawn asked, sitting up slowly. She stared at me wide eyed.

"She was your model," I told her, "You and Raven owned a shop and Celeste used to model your clothes."

"Oh," Dawn muttered. I smiled at her, patting her knee in a way that always seemed to re-assure her but in stead of shooting me a smile, she jumped. "Why did you do that?"

"Sorry," I said, withdrawing my hand from her knee, "Habit."

"No, no, it's fine," Dawn said, "No one's done that to me since before I went to the Academy. It's how my dad used to cheer me up."

"Oh," I said, "That's where it's from. You never told me that."

"Grr," Dawn growled. She jumped up from the bed and began pacing round the room. I watched her, my face blank. What had I done now? "It's so annoying. You exactly what to do to help me but when it comes to you, I have no idea."

"Calm down," I replied. I couldn't help the smirk that grew on my face. I patted the bed next to me. "I have had thirteen years of your mad ramblings to understand you and with an extra four on top of that from the Academy."

"It's not fair though," Dawn snapped, "I want to help you."

"Usually when you do that, something goes wrong," I moaned, "Then I have so much trouble trying to get you to smile again. Must be your troublesome nature."

"I know, I know, I'm troublesome," she blabbed in a mocking way.

"But you're my Troublesome," I told her, "You know how long I've held that title?"

"Far too long for your sanity, I bet," she giggled.

"You're right about that," I agreed. She skipped back to the bed and plopped down next to me.

"Do you miss her?" she asked.

"Miss who?" I replied, "You? Her? You're the same minus a few minor details, like a wedding band."

"Oh that's right," she said suddenly as if she was remembering something, "You owe me an engagement ring."

"Oh yeah," I sighed, "Here I go again. You would have thought I'd have learnt the last time."

"Jerk!" Dawn yelled.

The door of the cabin opened. I saw Leaf and May poke their heads into the room wondering what was going on. We glanced up at them probably seeming too innocent for their liking.

"Is something wrong?" Dawn asked eventually.

"Did we hear you right?" May snapped, "You're engaged?"

"Erm," Dawn muttered.

"Yes," I replied for her as she glanced over at me, "I asked her to marry me on our way to rescue you lot."

"Oh my Arcues!" Leaf screamed. I grimaced at the same time as Dawn did as Leaf's voice rang out throughout the room. Even after she closed her mouth there was a slight vibrate from her words. Next came a scamper of feet and the other three girls pushed into the room looking confused.

"What's going on?" Misty asked.

"Where's the fire?" Raven giggled when she noticed everything was alright.

"Dawn's getting married!" Leaf yelled, "They're getting married!"

"What?" Misty and Lyra snapped, shooting glares at the both of us.

"Since when?" Raven asked.

"Since the tunnel," Dawn replied weakly, "Paul asked me… And I said yes…"

There was a loud chorus of 'what' from all of the girls. Lyra stepped forwards, squaring up to me.

"I'll be on deck," I told her before she could tell me to get lost. I jumped off the bed and coolly walked of my room. The door slammed shut straight after I entered the corridor.

"Are you insane?" Lyra snapped. I chuckled darkly.

"That's what you said last time," I muttered before I made my way to the top deck.

I felt the ocean air hit my face and rustle my hair. How nice it felt to feel the freshness after so long. I leant against a rail, looking out across the vast ocean. How empty the world seemed suddenly, without any land in sight, it looked as thought there was only water. I glanced down the side of the ferry, seeing my reflection in the waves.

Just how was I going to defeat Wyre? Even with the girls' help I doubt it would be that easy. And we still had to grab the guys as well. Perhaps this wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

The ferry jerked suddenly, almost causing me to slip. I caught my footing in time to stop falling over the railing. I quickly turned round, hearing a loud crashing noise. What the hell was going on? When I heard the screams and shouts of people on the other side of the ferry, I ran to investigate.

Alongside the ship was a long, black submarine with the letter 'R' on the side of it in red paint. Great, we'd been found. That's all we needed right now, a fist fight with Team Rocket. Cursing I jumped over the banister and landed on the deck below. I began shooing people away from the scene, knowing full well Rocket was after us. I waited patiently for who ever it was to step out of the submarine. Eventually the door opened and out climbed fifteen grunts and their leader. It was Pegasus, Ascot's father.

"So here you are, Paul Shinji," he drawled as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Pegasus," I greeted back. I could feel something tugging at my lips, a smug smirk. I let it take over and soon I was staring at the Rocket boss with a condescending expression my face. He didn't seem to like it one bit.

"I almost didn't recognise you," Pegasus went on, "You look different somehow. Taller too. How did you manage it?"

"Ascot's dead," I stated bluntly, "Your son is gone. Done and dusted. How does that make you feel?"

Something flashed in his eyes, a strangled sort of pain. I had found a way into his head, now all I had to do was exploit it.

"I suppose you've lost a lot this week, right?" I went on, "Your nice cosy job. Your hundred percent no failure record. Oh and all respect you'll ever gain from Giovanni."

"Shut up," he snarled back at me. I ignored him.

"Well, how does it feel?" I prompted, "Bad? Sad? Hmm?"

"You little-" he snarled before he leapt off the submarine. He landed on the deck and raced towards me, his face set in a mad expression. If he got hold of now, he would kill me. His hands were raised to grab my collar but with a simple side step, he missed and almost ran into a deck chair. I caught his arm and managed to flip him onto his back with an impressive amount of strength and skill. He yelled out in pain.

"I bet the idea about getting all your worst enemies and bundling their children into a single academy where you would train them to be the best seems to be a very bad idea at the minute," I commented, trying to keep the banter alive. I smirked down at him as he tried to get to his feet. He glowered at me like he wanted to kill me, not that I could blame him. Suddenly his expression changed.

"You're not the Paul Shinji I saw at the academy," he stated. He was standing now, dusting off his uniform as if he'd never been decked. "You're different somehow. I never saw you as being the type to take orders, Shinji, but I never saw you as a cruel, scheming person either. So what happened?"

"Nothing happened," I replied, "Life. You know."

"I see," Pegasus said with a slow nod, "So where is your girlfriend? Miss Hikari."

"I want to ask you something," I said, "Why did you go looking for the legendaries?"

"I was told to," Pegasus replied slowly, "And when Giovanni gives you an order… No body is stupid enough to say no."

"Right," I said. For some reason I seemed to understand Pegasus now. I saw him as a bully but now I understood every one of his moves. He was scared. He was so scared that he would do anything to please Giovanni. It was going to be hard getting rid of Rocket.

Before I could say anything else, someone landed by my side but it wasn't Dawn. I glanced at the sea green haired girl with an air of surprise, wondering why she had so willingly come forwards.

"Raven," Pegasus greeted her coldly.

"Please," Raven said, "Take your submarine away now and leave us alone."

"Am I supposed to be scared?" Pegasus asked.

"Yes," Raven replied, sounding unconvincing even to me. I raised my hand, almost lazily, and shot a small burst of energy at the submarine. I managed to take out about five grunts, causing them to jump and fall into the sea. Pegasus' eyes widened and he took a step backwards.

"That's how you intimidate people, Raven," I told her.

"I wasn't trying to intimidate him," Raven snapped at me, "I was trying to warn him."

"Of what?" I asked.

I got my answer two seconds later as the submarine suddenly began to rise up on a huge wave. Dawn. What was she doing? I glanced round to see if I could find her but she must have been well hidden because I couldn't spot her anywhere. I glanced back at Pegasus, who seemed to be in awe of Dawn's powers but not worried.

"Now," he said simply. I wondered what he was going on about until I realised he must have been talking into a radio or something. Instantly the submarine launched a missile at the ship. The following explosion caused Raven and I to fall back against the steel wall of the ferry. The submarine instantly dropped back into the water.

"Let's go," Raven told me. We took off before Pegasus could spot us running away. This was far too dangerous to fight here since there were so many civilians on board without any where to run too. Plus we didn't know the extent of the damage to the ship.

Something in my concentration slipped as I happened to glance at a small boy who was just stood staring at me, his eyes wide in wonder. All that registered was the fact the boy had dark purple hair and bright blue eyes.

"Daddy?"

I stopped running so I could stare at the boy. He stared back at me.

"Dante," I breathed. His face creased up and he started to cry.

"Daddy, I'm scared," he wailed. I rushed towards him, calling his name as calmly as I could. I had just about put a hand on his shoulder when the boat rocked wildly. I slipped like Dante did and we both skidded across the now wet deck and slipped under the railing into the cold ocean.

As we plummeted down into the depths, I grabbed Dante and held him close into my body. We surfaced not soon after that and I made sure his head remained above the water.

"It's alright Dante," I told him, "I've got you."

He looked at me, his eyes red from the sea water and tears. Then he simply faded out of view. It took me a minute to realise what had just happened. One second I was holding my son, I was holding him, he was real, then he had faded away. He had slipped from my grasp. I felt paralysed as I realised I had failed to protect him once again.

"Paul?" I heard Raven yell as she ran to the railing I had slipped under. She looked worried and confused as to why I was suddenly in the ocean but she had no time to question. Another shudder from the ship had her falling over the railing and dropping into the water close to me. When she surfaced she coughed and spluttered, trying to clear her eyes of sea water before she opened them.

I swam over to her as she frolicked in the water grumpily.

"I hate you," she snapped at me, "You made me fall in."

"Come on," I replied, "Let's get back on board."

Raven nodded quickly. We turned in the water so we could swim back to the ship and get on board somehow. However, as I glanced upwards I saw Dawn staring down at me.

"Are you two alright?" she called.

"Watch your back!" I yelled back at her. She glanced behind her and let out a yelp. The next thing I knew she jumped over the railing and had landed on top of the water. She stood there for a few seconds regaining her composure before she walked over to us. Raven almost sank as she froze at the sight of Dawn walking on water.

"We need to get back up there," Dawn said.

"You think?" Raven snapped, "How come you can walk on water but we can't?"

"I am Suicune," Dawn laughed, "You would expect me to be able to walk on water."

I glanced up again as I saw the remaining four suddenly appear over the top of the railing. Lyra, Bandana and Carrot Top came crashing down into the water with a loud splash whereas Leaf gently floated down and hovered above the water.

"OK," she said, "I don't know how I did that but it beats getting wet any day."

"Everyone OK?" Dawn asked as the others resurfaced.

"We need to get out of here," Raven said. She pointed up at the ship at twenty or so grunts which were at the railings and pointing guns in our direction. Dawn took in a deep breath and before I could register what was going on, I was being swept away by a large, powerful wave. I came to realise, as my head remained above the water, that it was Dawn creating this wave.

I have no idea how long she kept this up for but soon we landed on a beach somewhere. Where ever we were, we were out of any immediate danger. I got to my feet, hating the fact my clothes were soaked through. Only Dawn was completely dry since Leaf kept being splashed by waves as she flew close to Dawn. I rung out my hair, trying to get as much water out of it as possible.

A shadow descended on me and before I could react, I felt the cold yet strong hand of Lyra whack me across the cheek. It stung immediately and gave me a crick in my neck as my head snapped to the side.

"You almost got us killed!" Lyra screamed at me, "You idiot! Your stupid antics almost cost everyone their lives!"

"Lyra, calm down," Carrot Top jumped in, stopping Lyra from slapping me again. My fingers brushed the place where she had hit me, the pain searing despite there not being any real damage. Wide eyed I looked around at the others. Leaf was sat legs crossed on the floor, sniffling loudly while knelt next to her, Bandana gaped at Lyra. Raven was rubbing her arms, stood awkwardly on the spot next to Dawn. Dawn's eyes were concentrating on the floor, avoiding my gaze at all costs.

Lyra fought herself free from Carrot Top's hands and jumped at me again, this time grabbing my collar and pushing me against a tree.

"Lyra no!" Raven gasped.

"What were you thinking? You almost sacrificed all of us for some little splash around in the sea!" Lyra bellowed, "I have no idea how we just escaped but I do know its all your fault!"

"Me?" I snapped back. With a sharp push, she flew backwards into Carrot Top. "Why the hell are you giving me grief? I thought I saw my son on that deck and I couldn't just leave him, could I? The whole reason why I came back was to save my son and what have I got for it? A bunch of teenage drama queens who are more concerned about their best friend getting married than of saving the world!"

The air rung momentarily after I stopped yelling. I had never felt so mad in my life even with the shouting I had just done, I felt as though I wasn't finished yet.

"You don't seem to realise that I am a father," I went on, snarling, "And I have to save my son whatever the cost to myself. I'm sorry you got caught up in it because of me but you don't understand I did it for my son!"

Leaf's cries stopped me continuing. She was sobbing into Bandan's shoulder loudly. The rest of them looked appalled, star struck suddenly as I let out all the anger from the past fourteen years out of my system. I let out a shaky sigh and ran a hand through my hair. Raven stepped backwards, probably expecting me to turn into a monster any second.

"Paul," Carrot Top muttered, "We're tired and scared-"

"To hell with that," I snapped at her. I let out a calming breath before I turned to Carrot Top. "I'm sorry. But I have things to do. I know he's in danger and he's scared and because I know that… I'm going to be a danger to all. I think it's better for us to split up here."

"No way," Raven squeaked. She cleared her throat before continuing. "We shouldn't split up. That's insane."

"Raven," Dawn said calmly. Everyone turned to look at her, surprised that she was so calm. Dawn's sapphire eyes burned into mine as she examined me. Finally she looked away. "Let's go. We need to find the boys and there's not a minute to lose."

"Dawn?" Bandana asked, concern edged in her voice.

"Paul has things to do," Dawn went on, "And he's right. We have different priorities."

"Well he shouldn't have," Lyra snapped, "For someone who claims to love you-"

"Lyra please," Dawn said, tears springing from her eyes, "I know… but he's not just my Paul. He's Dante's Paul too and Dante needs him more than I do right now."

"But we can't split up," Leaf wailed. Bandana hugged her closer, trying to comfort the teary girl. "It's like losing the boys all over again."

"We're getting them back," Dawn told Leaf, "But until then…"

She looked up at me, a frown on her face. I realised what she was doing. She was letting me go. She understood what I had to do for Dante, for my – no – our son. I nodded once to show her how grateful I was to her but she didn't seem to respond.

I decided to make my exit as quickly as possible, not wanting to drag this on too long so I departed with a casual turn on my heel and a few strides into the tree line.

"Dawn, you can't let him go," Bandana told her. I heard Dawn giggle.

"It's Paul," Dawn replied, "I wouldn't want him any other way. He works best on his own, you know."

"Dawn," Carrot Top sighed.

I kept my head down as I walked through the undergrowth of the forest, ignoring my conscience as best as I could. I shouldn't have yelled at them, I shouldn't have left them but I had done. Now I had to concentrate on getting my son back. And on the other hand, Dawn was right: I did work best on my own.

I paused slightly to glance up at the full moon in the sky.

"Dante, I'm coming for you," I muttered, "I promise."

**So yeah, the poll will be open until Saturday so if you want to vote, do it. Hopefully I'll feel better next week.**

**Please leave a review.**

**RSx**


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